Australian Federal Police finds 79 blocks of Mexican meth worth $273mn in hydraulic press during inspection
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Methamphetamine isa powerful and highly addictive stimulant that affects one's nervous system. It can be consumed through smoking, snorting and even injecting powder dissolved in water and alcohol.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) hasdiscovered over 300 kg of methamphetamine worth $273 million concealed deep inside a steel hydraulic press that was smuggled into New South Wales from Mexico. The officials added that this methamphetamine could have made up approximately 3 million individual street deals, the force said in a press release.
The importation originally arrived on April 18 and the AFPis now trying to identify the transactional crime syndicate behind the elaborated importation, Guardian reported.
The suspicions were raised after the Australian Border Force officers examined the consignment at the container examination facility in Syndey due to the density of steel. After this when the ABFdrilled into the core of the hydraulic press, they found a white substance deep inside the machinery, which gave a positive result for methamphetamine.
A total of 79 blocks of meth were found secreted inside two lea-lined tubs after the machinery was pulled apart.
What is Methamphetamine?
This is a powerful and highly addictive stimulant that affects one's nervous system. It can be consumed through smoking, snorting and even injecting powder dissolved in water and alcohol.
Its short-term effects include increased wakefulness and physical activity, decreased appetite, faster breathing and irregular heartbeat. However, its long-term effects include extreme weight loss, addiction, and several dental and skin problems like intense itching leading to skin sores.
Probe on
Salam Zreika, an AFPdetective sergeant said that only a well-established organised crime syndicate could have financed and managed such an "elaborated scheme."
He said, "Retrieving the drugs from this concealment in Australia would require significant resources, expertise and space, so someone in the community may have heard something that could help us to identify those involved locally."
He added that these current seizures clearly showed that the drug trafficking syndicates will always try to smuggle illicit drugs into Australia for their own benefit.
Zreika also mentioned that methamphetamine causes immense harm. As per official data of 2020-21, an averageof 33 people in Australia were hospitalised each day for meth drug-related incidents.
The federal agency has been working with law enforcement partners locally and overseas to investigate the matter locally and overseas to determine the origins of the drugs and criminals behind the illegal importations.
(with inputs from agencies)
Wednesday, May 24, 2023 at 6:59 am