A Swiss national is expected to appear before Melbourne Magistrates' Court today (4 January, 2025) charged with allegedly importing 25kg of cocaine into Australia concealed in his luggage.
Australian Border Force (ABF) officers allegedly detected the illicit drugs yesterday (3 January, 2025) after selecting the man, 21, for a baggage examination when he arrived at Melbourne Airport on a flight from Los Angeles.
They allegedly found packages of a white substance hidden in 20 black plastic packets in the man's suitcase and notified the AFP.
Initial testing of the substance returned a positive result for cocaine.
The AFP charged the man with:
- One count of importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug, namely cocaine, contrary to section 307.1 (1) of the Criminal Code (Cth); and
- One count of possessing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug, namely cocaine, contrary to section 307.8 (1) of the Criminal Code (Cth).
This amount of cocaine could have been sold as almost 125,000 street deals with an estimated value of $8 million.
AFP Detective Superintendent Simon Butcher said the AFP and its partners were committed to stamping out criminality in the airport environment, including by transnational drug syndicates.
"Despite all the risks involved, we are still regularly charging people who have attempted to bring illicit drugs into our country through our airports," Det Supt Butcher said.
"The AFP and our partners are working tirelessly to prevent illicit drugs from reaching the Australian community and stop criminals profiting at the community's expense."
ABF Acting Commander Kelly-Anne Parish said that her ABF officers remained committed to protecting Australia's borders all year round.
"Despite being the busiest time of year with record numbers of travellers, we remain highly vigilant in order to deter and apprehend emboldened criminals seeking to exploit Australia's borders through any number of ways," a/Commander Parish said.
"We will continue to do everything in our power to bring to justice those criminal syndicates looking to proliferate the illicit global drug trade and net immense financial gains to fund other nefarious enterprises.
"Along with our state, federal and international partners, we will ensure effective safeguards remain in place to protect our community and keep Australians safe each and every day."
