Two men from the NSW Central Coast appeared before Gosford Local Court this week charged over their alleged role in the importation of seven kilograms of methamphetamine hidden inside a wooden table.
A Blackwall man, 19, and a Woy Woy man, 24, were both charged on Tuesday (20 May, 2025) with:
- One count of attempting to possess a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border-controlled drug, contrary to sections 307.5 and 11.1 of the Criminal Code (Cth); and
- One count of attempting to import a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug, contrary to section 307.1 of the Criminal Code (Cth).
The maximum penalty for both offences is life imprisonment.
Both men were refused bail and are scheduled to reappear before the same court on 11 July, 2025.
An AFP investigation was launched in April, 2025, after US Customs and Border Protection (US CBP) officers in Honolulu identified seven concealed plastic bags inside a wooden table from a NSW-bound air cargo consignment.
They deconstructed the table to retrieve the bags, which contained a crystalline substance that tested positive for methamphetamine.
Australian authorities were alerted and the methamphetamine removed from the consignment, which was then transported on to Sydney and stopped by Australian Border Force on arrival.
The AFP then reconstructed the table and, with the assistance of NSW Police Force Brisbane Water Police District, a controlled delivery was conducted on 20 May, 2025.
The consignment was delivered to an Umina Beach address and accepted by an occupant.
Search warrants were then executed at the Umina Beach address and residences in Blackwall and Woy Woy.
The Blackwall man was arrested shortly afterwards. An examination of an electronic device allegedly revealed conversations between him, the Woy Woy man and another person in relation to the consignment.
The Woy Woy man was arrested later that evening. Items retrieved from a bin at his home allegedly contained numerous unopened chemicals believed to be used to extract methamphetamine, and a delivery receipt for the consignment.
Investigations are ongoing and further arrests have not been ruled out.
AFP Detective Superintendent Morgen Blunden said trafficking methamphetamine and other illicit drugs destroyed lives, damaged communities and fuelled violence.
"Methamphetamine is a devastating drug, and criminals are indifferent to the harm they cause users and their loved ones," Det Supt Blunden said.
"Criminals are motivated solely by greed, and this amount of methamphetamine would have had an estimated street value of $45 million.
"The AFP shares intelligence with domestic and international law enforcement partners every day and this result is a testament to our close relationship."
A US Customs and Border Protection spokesperson said the detection by the Honolulu Office of Field Operations team was part of longstanding cross-border cooperation with the Australian Border Force.
"We work actively to share information in a timely manner to ensure border targeting and intervention is effective in identifying and seizing border-controlled drugs being trafficked by Transnational Criminal Organisations, they said.
"This successful operation demonstrates the collective approach of our law enforcement agencies in the US and Australia as we actively cooperate to disrupt and dismantle drug cartels who seek to harm our communities."
