An Italian national has been sentenced to a maximum six years and eight months' imprisonment in Western Australia for attempting to traffic Christmas toys stuffed with ketamine into the state.
The man, 29, was sentenced by the Perth District Court on 5 February, 2026. He will be eligible for parole after serving three years and four months' imprisonment.
An investigation began when Australian Border Force (ABF) officers found about 1.5kg of high-purity ketamine hidden inside five soft Christmas toys that arrived in a package from Spain on Christmas Day, 2023.
The ABF alerted AFP officers, who replaced the illicit drugs with an inert substance before the package was released for delivery on 4 January, 2024, and taken to a residence in the Perth suburb of Coogee.
Later that day, AFP officers executed a search warrant at the Coogee address, where they found the package open on a table, and some of the substituted drugs removed from two of the soft toys.
One bag of the substituted drugs was located on a set of scales, near a vacuum sealing machine.
The man pleaded guilty to:
- One count of attempting to traffic in a commercial quantity of a controlled drug, namely ketamine, contrary to section 11.1(1) and section 302.2(1) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth); and
- One count of dealing with money, it being reasonable to suspect that such money was proceeds of crime and at the time of dealing the value of the money was $100,000 or more, contrary to section 400.9(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth).
A second Italian national charged as part of the operation was sentenced to three years' imprisonment for his role in the plot in October, 2024.
Following the success of the AFP-led Op Helidon, an international investigation was launched and led to the dismantling of an alleged Spanish-based transnational organised crime syndicate accused of trafficking illicit drugs to Australia.
Spanish law enforcement investigating the syndicate have charged several people in Barcelona and Ibiza, and they remain before the courts.
AFP Detective Superintendent Peter Chwal said the AFP worked closely with local and international partners to dismantle criminal networks that seek to profit from the pain and suffering inflicted on the Australian community through the illicit drug trade.
"The people involved in trafficking these kinds of hideous drugs into our country are driven by greed and have zero regard for the damage they cause," Det Supt Chwal said.
"Like a lot of illicit drugs, members of the community using ketamine have no idea where it came from, and what other substances it could be contaminated with.
"Ketamine is a sedative used illicitly as a 'date rape' drug. Its dissociative effects block sensory brain signals and can cause memory loss, feelings of being detached from one's body and the inability to perceive dangers."
ABF Superintendent James Payne said the continued efforts of the ABF and our law enforcement colleagues to identify and disrupt criminal syndicates were essential to protecting the community from harm.
"Every detection of illicit goods, no matter how small the quantity, provides intelligence that can lead to significant transnational organised crime groups being dismantled," Supt Payne said
"This sentencing should serve as a warning to those seeking to exploit the postal system as a means to profit from illicit substances."
"ABF's detection capabilities only continue to improve, and our targeting and intelligence-driven approach continues to stop illicit drugs from flooding onto our streets."
