Sydney, April 6, (dpa/GNA) – A 43-year-old man from Melbourne was charged over the importation into Australia of 500 litres of methamphetamine concealed in white vinegar, police said on Thursday.
The man was arrested on Wednesday after an investigation into a shipping container of food products which was originally sent from northern Iraq to Turkey before arriving in Melbourne in early February.
Police identified that 25 barrels of the consignment contained methamphetamine, for a total volume of 500 litres of the drug, also known as meth or ice. Its estimated street value is $41.6 million Australia ($27.9 million US), according to police.
The man, whom police allege is linked to Middle Eastern organized crime, is charged with importing and attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug. The offences have a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
“The illicit drug supply chain is littered with violence and had this amount of methamphetamine made its way to Australian streets, it would have spread through our suburbs fuelling more violence, crime and drug addiction,” said Anthony Hall of the Australian Federal Police. “Countless lives and families would have been horrendously affected.”
GNA