This is a joint media release between Australian Federal Police and Australian Border Force
The AFP has charged a Canadian man as part of an investigation into a syndicate suspected of trafficking methamphetamines into Western Australia through air cargo.
The man, 22, was arrested and charged on 16 January, 2023, after he tried to collect a parcel that allegedly contained about two kilograms of methamphetamines.
He had arrived in Australia from Canada less than a week before his arrest.
AFP officers searched the Perth CBD hotel room where he was allegedly staying and found another 1kg of methamphetamine, which they suspect was from a similar air cargo consignment.
Police will allege the man struggled with officers during his arrest, with the AFP members sustaining minor injuries.
The man first appeared in Perth Magistrates Court on 17 January, 2023 and was remanded in custody to reappear in court today (10 February, 2023).
The drug trafficking investigation was launched last month (January) after Australian Border Force (ABF) officers at the Perth Air Cargo facility detected about 1kg of methamphetamine in a package sent from the United States. The delivery address was a post office box at a suburban shopping centre.
ABF officers alerted the AFP, before identifying and seizing another four consignments suspected to be linked, although they were addressed to different people. All five packages were sent from the United States and were supposed to be delivered by couriers to parcel lockers in metropolitan Perth. Authorities found about 2kg of methamphetamine in each of the other four packages.
When police searched the Perth CBD hotel room they also allegedly found a driver's licence. The name allegedly did not match the Canadian man's, but was the same as the intended recipient for one of the intercepted packages.
AFP Inspector Matt Taylor said drug importers often used delivery services, parcel lockers and false details for the sender and recipient in a bid to avoid law enforcement detection and distance themselves from the crime.
"While most air mail or air cargo imports might seem like relatively small amounts of illicit substances - anywhere from 5g to several kilograms - combined, they equate to millions of individual street deals that cause significant harm to the community," he said.
"Illicit drug use burdens the Australian economy and Australian taxpayers. The estimated total social costs for every kilogram of illicit drugs classed as stimulants, such as methamphetamine, is more than $226,000 through crime, loss of productivity, emergency treatment and increased health care costs.
"We suspect the packages were all sent from the same source and we are investigating who sent them, in conjunction with our international law enforcement partners via the AFP's International Command.
"Transnational serious organised crime groups often use small high-volume imports to generate funds for more or larger shipments. This is why the AFP works closely with ABF in WA and other partners locally and internationally to disrupt all levels of the drug trade."
ABF Superintendent James Payne praised the vigilant work of ABF officers to target attempted imports of illicit drugs alongside the AFP and other law enforcement partners.
"We know the lengths criminals will go to in their attempts to import harmful drugs into our country. Our highly trained and experienced ABF officers prove time and time again that they will find drug shipments wherever they are from or however they may be concealed," Superintendent Payne said.
"Illicit drugs cause immense damage in our community but the criminals involved in this trade care only about the money they are trying to make. Those who choose to be involved in this kind of activity should expect to be caught and punished. Our message is clear, we are always a step ahead.
"The Australian border is one of our most critical national assets. The ABF, along with our law enforcement partners, will continue to make the border a hostile environment for criminals trying to import illicit drugs."
The Canadian national, 22, has been charged with:
- One count of attempt to possess a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border controlled drug, contrary to section 307.8 of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth). The maximum penalty for this offence is life imprisonment;
- One count of trafficking a commercial quantity of a controlled drug, contrary to section 302.2 of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth). The maximum penalty for this offence is life imprisonment; and
- One count of obstruction of Commonwealth Public Officials, contrary to section 149.1 of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth). The maximum penalty for this offence is two years' imprisonment.
