A 21-year-old New Zealander is facing life in prison after he allegedly imported 20kg of cocaine into Australia concealed in his luggage.
Australian Border Force officials detected the drugs on February 1 after the 21-year-old was selected for a baggage examination as he arrived at Sydney Airport from the United States.
They allegedly found 22 vacuum sealed packages of a white substance hidden in the man’s suitcase.
Initial testing returned a positive result for cocaine, and the Australian Border Force alerted police.
This amount of cocaine could have been sold as almost 100,000 street deals with an estimated value of NZD$7.17 million. The weight was equivalent to more than a dozen 1.5kg bags of flour.
The man was charged with one count of importing a commercial quality of a border-controlled drug. The offence carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
He was expected to appear in court today.
Australian Federal Police superintendent Luke Needham said the agency was working hard with partners to ensure air travel and airports were not used as a criminal supply chain.
“This man is the third person charged by the AFP in the past fortnight for allegedly trying to smuggle illicit drugs into Australia hidden in luggage.
“The AFP and its partners are working tirelessly to disrupt all levels of the drug trade and stop anyone who tries to profit at the expense of our community.”
Australian Border Force superintendent Elke West said intuittion played a part in the decision by officers to conduct a random baggage examination.
“Our officers are trained to detect changes in behaviour and body language and rely on their instincts when observing passengers.”
