A Mexican duo have appeared in a NSW court over a failed bid to smuggle 200kg of meth ‘paint’ inside a shipping container.
The duo appeared before the NSW Bail Division Court on June 16 charged over the failed bid to bring the methamphetamine into Sydney.
The Australian Border Force (ABF) says their investigations began earlier this month after their officers intercepted a container shipped from Mexico.
Detector dogs that inspected the container reacted positively to drugs and the ABF referred the matter to the Australian Federal Police (AFP).
The AFP says its forensic investigators took the container apart and found a layer of methamphetamine infused into the internal paintwork.
AFP estimates the container contained more than 200kg of meth, or the equivalent of two million individual street deals, with a street value of $185 million.
MEXICAN FATHER, SON ARRESTED
On June 15, the AFP raided a property in Box Hill, Sydney, and seized electronic devices and other industrial equipment that they allege was to be used to extract the meth.
Three Mexican nationals, including a father and son, and a 25-year-old woman were arrested.
The men, aged 25 and 49, were charged by the AFP with smuggling the meth; the woman was released pending further inquiries.
ABF Superintendent Jared Leighton says using paint to conceal the meth is proof of the extreme measures that criminal gangs will use.
“Detailed examination of cargo is critical to protecting the border; our officers are highly skilled in identifying anomalies in even the most elaborate concealments,” he says.
“This detection reinforces that the ABF is well-equipped to detect even highly complex importation attempts.”
AFP Detective Acting Superintendent Trevor Robinson praised his officers’ work that led to the arrest of the Mexican duo.
“Criminal syndicates like to think they have outsmarted law enforcement by impregnating drugs in unique ways, but this seizure highlights that isn’t the case” he says.
“This investigation has prevented millions of dollars of drug profit flowing back into the syndicate to fund their next criminal venture.”
“The AFP is working tirelessly with our domestic and international partners to make Australia a hostile environment to these criminal syndicates.”
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