A Sydney man was this week (17 December, 2024) sentenced to seven years and nine months' imprisonment with a non-parole period of four years and nine months for his role in the importation of 174.4kg of methamphetamine from Mexico to Australia via China in 2023.
The Surry Hills man, 25, was sentenced by the Downing Centre District Court after pleading guilty in July, 2024 to one count of possessing methamphetamine, one count of supplying MDMA and one count of supplying cocaine.
The investigation began in May, 2023 when the General Administration of China Customs Anti-Smuggling Bureau (GACCASB) noticed a suspicious consignment from Mexico that was destined for Melbourne. The GACCASB alerted the AFP before the shipment continued its journey to Melbourne.
A total of 174.4kg of methamphetamine had been concealed inside the machinery.
The AFP and Australian Border Force (ABF) tracked the consignment as it was collected by a logistics company in Melbourne and transported to a factory in Yagoona, Sydney.
In July 2023, the AFP executed a search warrant at the factory where they arrested the Surry Hills man and subsequently located a disused clan lab and seized equipment suspected to have been used in the manufacture of drugs.
A search warrant was executed at the man's Surry Hills home where marketable quantities of cocaine and MDMA were seized.
The AFP charged the man in July, 2023. In July, 2024, the man pleaded guilty to:
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One count of possessing commercial quantity of border controlled drugs, contrary to section 307.5 of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth);
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One count of supplying a prohibited drug (MDMA), contrary to sections 25(1) and 29 of the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 (NSW); and
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One count of supplying a prohibited drug (cocaine), contrary to sections 25(1) and 29 of the Drug Misuse and Trafficking Act 1985 (NSW).
A Canley Vale man, 35, was also charged as part of the investigation. The man remains before the court and will face trial next year.
AFP Detective Superintendent Simone Butcher said the AFP took a global approach to the problem of illicit drugs.
"The AFP and its Australian and overseas law enforcement partners are relentless in the pursuit of those who wish to profit off the misery of others," Det-Supt Butcher said.
"Had it not been for the diligence of the GACCASB and the swift reaction of the AFP and ABF, these highly addictive drugs would have wreaked havoc on our streets, in our homes and in our hospitals.
"On average, 38 people were hospitalised each day in Australia for methamphetamine-related incidents in 2022-23*.
"We can be thankful that on this occasion the Australian community were spared the devastating economic and human cost of illicit drug use."
ABF Superintendent Geoff Quinn said officers work across the country, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, protecting the community from the dangers of illicit drugs.
"ABF officers liaise with our partner agencies on a daily basis to ensure intelligence is shared cross-border and internationally so suspicious consignments can be stopped in their tracks," Supt Quinn said.
"We all have the same priority - to protect the Australian community from the harm which methamphetamine and other illicit drugs bring."
*Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report.
