Australian Border Force officers have stopped almost $3 million of MDMA from hitting the streets, after a large consignment was seized last week.
On Thursday 6 February 2025, ABF officers observed anomalies within a consignment from Germany, declared as various types of candy.
Upon inspection, officers opened the consignment and found nine vacuum sealed packages containing grey tablets.
Initial presumptive testing returned a positive reading for 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, commonly known as MDMA, with an estimated total weight of 18kg.
The estimated street value of the illicit drugs seized is approximately $2.97 million.
ABF officers seized the drugs and have referred to the Australian Federal Police (AFP) for further enquiries.
ABF Acting Superintendent Shaun Baker said this detection within the mail stream demonstrates the lengths criminal syndicates will go to in an attempt to get large quantities of illicit drugs past border controls.
"18kg of MDMA is a significant quantity to be sent within one mail consignment, what is more surprising is despite the quantity - there appears to be little to no attempt to conceal what's inside whatsoever," Acting Superintendent Baker said.
"This goes to show how desperate and brazen the organised crime world is at trying each potential avenue to import drugs into our country.
"ABF officers continue to work hand in glove with our federal and state law enforcement partners to monitor intelligence and observe trends to ensure we are stopping these harmful substances from saturating our communities."
