A United States woman is expected to appear before a New South Wales Bail Division Court today (8 September, 2025) charged with allegedly importing about 20kg of cocaine into Australia hidden in her luggage.
Australian Border Force (ABF) officers intercepted the woman, 31, for a baggage examination after she arrived at Sydney Airport on a flight from Los Angeles, USA, yesterday (7 September, 2025).
They allegedly located 14 black vacuum sealed bags filled with a substance that returned a presumptive positive test for cocaine, with an estimated total weight of 20kg.
AFP officers arrested the woman and seized the illicit drugs.
She was charged 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).
The offence carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
AFP Superintendent Morgen Blunden said the cocaine had an estimated street value of $6.5 million and could have resulted in 100,000 street-level deals.
"The AFP and ABF are still regularly finding and arresting people willing to risk decades in jail by trafficking illicit drugs through our airports," Supt Blunden said.
"The AFP works closely with our law enforcement partners to protect our communities and target illegal drugs coming into the country through airports.
"People considering smuggling drugs through our airports need to think about the consequences of their actions. If caught, you will face losing some of the best years of your life sitting in a prison cell."
ABF Superintendent Elke West said a skilled approach to targeting and assessing potential passenger threats by ABF officers continued to catch sneaky crooks.
"Our intelligence-led operations, coupled with expert agency collaboration and officer drive, has resulted in yet another large detection and stopped thousands of individual hits reaching Sydney streets," Supt West said.
"The Australian Border Force acts as the first line of defence in protecting our country's borders, whether that be land, sea, or air, scouting possible threats and disrupting the supply of illicit goods.
"We are committed to continuing to evolve as an agency and in partnership with our federal and state counterparts to remain one step ahead of criminal entities and interrupt their supply chain."
