Australian authorities recently seized a container originating from Malaysia and destined for Brisbane, Australia, that had 336kg of heroin valued at A$268.8 million (RM789.56 million).
This seizure marked the second-largest ever recorded and was discovered by the Australian Border Force (ABF), who found the drugs concealed within two concrete blocks weighing 500kg each.
According to a statement from the Australian Federal Police (AFP) released last week, the shipment had been declared as solar panel accessories.
“ABF officers who checked the container managed to detect hundreds of packets of the drugs in the cement blocks. Tests carried out on them later showed that they were packets of heroin.
“Police investigators and ABF officers who drilled into the cement blocks managed to recover 960 packets, each containing about 350g of heroin,” the statement said.
After recovering the drugs, the authorities allowed the consignment to continue on to the address listed on its paperwork, in Brendale, north Brisbane, on March 28.
“On March 29, intelligence showed that the consignment was accepted by a local man who was using a rented truck. It then travelled on to Sydney where it was delivered to an industrial shed in Mount Druitt on March 30.
“The man, aged 55, then returned to the shed (the next day) with industrial tools to cut into the concrete and access the heroin hidden inside the display stands,” the statement said, adding that police arrested the man as he left the shed later that morning.
Afterwards, law enforcement officials carried out a series of search warrants at both businesses and residences in New South Wales and Queensland. Locations included Brendale in Queensland, as well as Mount Druitt, Blacktown, Auburn, Cecil Park, and Constitution Hill in NSW.
During these searches, police confiscated an estimated A$700,000 worth of jewelry and electronic devices from the home of the Auburn resident. At other locations, items seized included cash, mobile phones, hard drives, notebooks, and other components of the reconstructed shipment.
This 336kg seizure stands as the second-largest detection of heroin on Australian soil in law enforcement history. In 2021, a joint effort by police and the ABF resulted in the seizure of 450kg of heroin in Melbourne.
According to Police Commander John Tanti, the removal of such a large amount of heroin from the streets of Australia will save lives and strike a significant blow to the finances of organized crime groups, who have been living luxuriously while law-abiding citizens struggle with the cost of living.
“This amount heroin would cause untold damage in the community and increase the burden on our health system and social services, all in the name of greed for transnational organised crime,” he said.
Commander Tanti said police worked closely with international and Commonwealth partners to fight drug trafficking.
“The investigation is ongoing and further arrests can’t be ruled out.”
ABF commander James Copeman praised the efforts of ABF officers who detected the suspect consignment after it arrived in the Port of Brisbane.
“The dedication and experience of our officers working at our state-of-the-art Container Examination Facility ensured that this massive shipment of heroin never stood a chance of hitting Australian streets,” he said.
In a statement on Monday, Apr. 10, the Bukit Aman Narcotics Crime Investigation Department in Malaysia said that they are currently investigating the matter with the AFP.
ALSO CHECK OUT:
