Police find $12M worth of meth concealed with vinegar and coffee in Canadian’s luggage at Australian airport

August 6, 2024 TruthUSA

A Canadian woman was apprehended at an airport in Australia late last month after authorities found methamphetamines valued at $12 million concealed in her luggage.

The 14.4 kilograms of meth was packaged in plastic and vinegar-soaked towels before being layered with coffee beans, the Australian Border Force said in an Aug. 1 statement.

Authorities reported that a 24-year-old Canadian, whose name has not been disclosed, arrived at Brisbane International Airport on July 28 on a flight from Fiji, after beginning her travels in Vancouver.

Australian border officials singled the woman out for a baggage examination. The packages allegedly found in her luggage were tested and returned a “presumptive positive result” for methamphetamine, the border agency said in a Aug. 1 press release.

As a result, a Canadian woman has been charged by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) with one count of importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug in connection with the seizure.

The drugs could have been sold “as almost 145,000 street deals” with an estimated value of AU$13.4 million—approximately CA$12 million, authorities said.

“I’m pleased to say in this instance the AFP and the ABF stopped a significant amount of methamphetamine from reaching our streets,” AFP acting Det.-Supt. Steve Wiggins said in the press release. “The AFP and its Australian and international partners are relentless in pursuing those who try to bring illegal drugs into this country.”

ABF Supt. John Ikin said the border agency would continue working to disrupt the flow of illicit drugs into the country.

“This result should serve as a warning to criminals that no matter where you are attempting to import or move your drugs, the ABF and our partners will be waiting,” Ikin said.

Drugs Coming From Canada

There have been several other cases involving drugs originating from Canada and destined for Australia in recent months.

A freight forwarding worker from Australia received a six-and-a-half year sentence in court last month for his role in a plan to import 100 kilograms of meth from Canada.

The Sydney man, 41, was charged in March 2022 after a joint AFP and border agency investigation into a transnational drug trafficking syndicate uncovered an attempt to transport drugs into Australia in 2021 inside a commercial dough mixer, according to a joint press release.

A second Sydney man was also charged in connection with the incident and received an 11 year prison sentence.

A 29-year-old Canadian received a lengthy sentence last February for attempting to smuggle 154 kilograms of meth into the country, the AFP, border agency, and Victoria Police said in a joint press release.

Alexandre Francoise Gerard Forcade, was sentenced to 18-and-a-half years in an Australian prison. He will not be eligible for parole for 13 years and 6 months and will be deported back to Canada upon his release.

Forcade was linked to a “suspicious shipping container” arriving in Melbourne from Mexico in January of 2022, authorities said. Border officials discovered “blocks of a substance” that tested positive for meth hidden inside 19 tonnes of silver concentrate, said the police press release.

Later that year, an estimated AU$155 million worth of cocaine and meth were found hidden inside a 1960 Bentley sedan sent in a shipping container from Canada to Port Botany, which is located 20 minutes south of Sydney. In Canadian funds, the drugs would have been valued at $140 million.

An examination of the Bentley by border officials revealed 161 kilograms of meth and 30 kilograms of cocaine hidden behind the headlights of the vehicle, the border agency said in a press release.

Two Australian men, aged 22 and 23, were arrested and subsequently charged with the importation of drugs and several other offences.

Authorities did not say where in Canada the Bentley originated from.

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