This is a joint media release between the Australian Federal Police, Victoria Police, Australian Border Force, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and Department of Home Affairs.
Two members of an alleged transnational criminal syndicate operating in Melbourne will face Melbourne Magistrates court today (Wednesday 6 September, 2023) after authorities seized approximately 300kg of methamphetamine.
The Victoria Joint Organised Crime Taskforce (JOCTF) has arrested the two men following an investigation into a Melbourne-based Chinese/Taiwanese syndicate suspected of importing border-controlled drugs.
A Burwood man, 33, has been charged with:
- One count of importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug, namely methamphetamine, contrary to section 307.1(1) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth).
- One count of attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug, namely methamphetamine, contrary to 307.8(1) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth) by virtue of section 11.1(1) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth).
- One count of possess a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug, namely methamphetamine, contrary to section 307.5(1) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth).
A Ferntree Gully man, 33, has been charged with:
- One count importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug, namely methamphetamine, contrary to section 307.1(1) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth).
- One count of attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug, namely methamphetamine, contrary to 307.5(1) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth) by virtue of section 11.1(1) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth).
- One count of possess a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug, namely methamphetamine, contrary to section 307.5(1) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth).
These offences carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
Police will allege the men are linked to an importation of 78kg of methamphetamine hidden inside a shipment of surfboards, which arrived into Melbourne via air cargo from Los Angeles, USA, on 11 August, 2023.
Australian Border Force (ABF) officers identified anomalies in the consignment during an x-ray screening and reported the matter to the AFP.
The AFP found a white crystalline substance concealed within resin inside 12 surfboards. Forensic testing of the substance returned a positive result for methamphetamine.
The AFP replaced the illicit drugs with an inert substance and facilitated a controlled delivery to a storage unit in Dandenong South on 23 August, 2023.
The Burwood man and a NSW man collected the consignment from the storage unit on Friday, 25 August, 2023.
The NSW man then loaded the 12 surfboards into a vehicle and drove them to his house in the Sydney suburb of Punchbowl.
The Burwood man and Ferntree Gully man also attended a storage unit in the Melbourne suburb of Preston on 30 August and unloaded two pallets of boxes from a second consignment.
JOCTF members executed a search warrant on the same day and seized the consignment, which contained silicon moulds that police suspected were impregnated with methamphetamine.
Impregnating illicit substances into material is a unique concealment method and extraction can be a complex process.
AFP Forensics Officers estimate this second consignment contains between 200 and 300kg of methamphetamine.
Forensic testing has confirmed the presence of methamphetamine, however, due to the nature of the concealment, additional testing is required to determine its amount and purity.
The men were arrested on 5 September 2023 in the Melbourne suburbs of Burwood and Ferntree Gully.
JOCTF members executed search warrants at the two homes of the accused where they found evidence of the imports.
A search warrant was executed at the home in Punchbowl, where police located and seized the boxes containing the surfboards.
AFP Detective Superintendent Jason McArthur said methamphetamine was an extremely addictive illicit drug and caused immense psychological, financial and social harm to users and those around them.
"Across Australia, 33 people on average were admitted to hospital every day in 2020-21 for methamphetamine-related issues*," Det-Supt McArthur said.
"This seizure demonstrates the importance of collaboration between law enforcement partners to disrupt attempts by organised crime to import illicit drugs into Victoria and profit at the expense of the community.
"The illicit drug supply chain is littered with violence and had this amount of methamphetamine made its way onto our streets, it would have spread through our suburbs, fuelling more violence, crime and drug addiction."
Victoria Police Detective Superintendent Dave Cowan, Organised Crime Division, said we are at a pivotal point in the fight against illicit drugs and that we must work to challenge the attitudes around their use in our community.
"The use of methylamphetamine per capita in Australia is matched by no other nation in the world, and the devastating and tragic damage caused by its use ripples throughout the community.
"The impact it has on human behaviour translates into road trauma, family violence, homicides, shootings and other violent offending intrinsically linked to the illicit drug trade.
"Let me be clear - there is no safe illicit drug to take. Every single time you engage in illicit drug taking, you put yourself at risk of harm, as well as every single person around you.
"Our work does not stop with this seizure and these arrests. Alongside our law enforcement partners, we will pursue every avenue of enquiry possible as a result of this investigation."
ABF acting Superintendent Felicity Wicks said ABF officers are vigilant to the methods organised crime groups use to try to illegally import drugs into the country.
"Criminals attempt to use all kinds of crafty ways to circumvent our officers at the border but detections like this one show that we are yet again a step ahead," A/g Supt Wicks said.
"The ABF is committed to protecting the community from harmful drugs and working closely with our law enforcement partners to stop the tide of methamphetamine coming into Australia.
"This seizure shows that strong partnerships can stop organised crime syndicates by making the border a hostile operating environment for those who seek to do the community harm."
ACIC National Manager South Operations Damien Appleby said the ACIC will continue providing mission critical intelligence to our partners, both in Australia and offshore, to prevent methylamphetamine entering Australia.
"This operational success is a great example of how law enforcement and intelligence agencies are working together to disrupt criminal networks and protect Australian communities from the harm of illicit drugs."
*Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report.
