A man has been charged with attempting to bring into Tasmania, in the boot of a car while sailing aboard the Spirit of Tasmania, four kilogrammes of methylamphetamine and two kilogrammes of cocaine.
With an estimated street value of more than $5 million, Tasmania Police claim that this is one of the biggest narcotics recoveries in the history of the state.
A 26-year-old man from Queensland is scheduled to appear in the Devonport Magistrates Court later today on a narcotics trafficking allegation.
Assistant Commissioner Rob Blackwood of Tasmania Police stated that detectives were always keeping an eye on the state’s ports.
“Tasmania Police and the AFP work really closely with staff at the Spirit of Tasmania, the airport and mail to make sure we’re monitoring what’s coming into the state, and that’s where we have a lot of success when it comes to detections,” he stated.
It was unclear to police whether the man had been under observation or had been singled out for harm.
To find out where the medications came from, a digital forensic investigation will be done. It seemed like they had been hidden in an automobile boot with clothes on.
According to Hilda Sirec, assistant commissioner of the AFP, officers are still having to deal with a high narcotics demand.
“Unfortunately, the demand for drugs in Australia is high, and criminal groups offshore and here domestically will try and exploit this vulnerability by bringing drugs into our country,” she stated.
“We know that offshore syndicates all around the world are looking to target Australia.”Australia has a high demand for drug use, therefore we want to make it clear to criminals that we will always work together with our partners to prohibit the import of narcotics.”
15 kilogrammes of cocaine that were being transported from Sydney into Bell Bay, Tasmania, were discovered by authorities in March of the previous year.
Nobody has been charged by the police in connection with the drug seizure.
