2 Singaporean cash smugglers tried to fool sniffer dogs at Adelaide airport by lining bags with raw meat

Photo: Facebook; Pixabay
Photo: Facebook; Pixabay

Ryan Marc Pereira and Edward Choi Gou Hang are two Singaporean men who were caught in Australia last December for attempting to smuggle out a total of A$520,450 in cash at Adelaide Airport. You’d remember the case from last year — the sniffer dog who busted the two was found to be a pure balloon of joy and happiness. Let’s be dazzled by the doggo again.

WHO’S A GOOD, CRIMEBUSTING DOGGY? Photo: Australian Federal Police / Facebook

Now we know why the Australian Federal Police Cash and Drug Detector dog — named Utana — was so chuffed that day.

The two Singaporeans Utana busted thought they could outsmart the sniffer dog… by lining their suitcases with steaks and chops to mask the smell of money. Go easy on them; it probably seemed like a good idea at the time. Unorthodox? Cartoonish? Sure, but you gotta give them points for creativity.

A bag that contained over A$270,000 had T-bone steaks in it. Another bag contained a tray of lamb chops that had nearly A$250,000 concealed beside it.

Clearly, the plan didn’t work because Utana detected some of the cash in one of their bags. According to the Australian Associated Press (AAP), police did a thorough search on their baggage immediately and uncovered the aforementioned amount of cash. They were arrested and charged with handling money that was most likely to be proceeds of criminal offending — the two only spent two days in Adelaide after all.

In sentencing, Pereira is to serve a 14-month jail term but was ordered to serve 9 months instead. Similarly, Choi will only serve 6 months instead of the original 12-month term. They will be released on Sep 4 and June 4 respectively, AAP reports.

Upon release, they’ll be deported back to Singapore, where they’ll probably be staying away from steak and lamb chops for a while.



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