Two New Zealand nationals faced have been charged after allegedly attempting to move 36kg of methamphetamine through Melbourne Airport.
Australian Border Force (ABF) officers seized the illicit drugs on November 24 after selecting two women, both aged 22, for a baggage examination after arriving on a flight from Malaysia into Melbourne.
The officers allegedly located a white crystalline substance in each of the women’s suitcases, totalling about 36kg. Initial testing of the substance returned a positive result for methamphetamine and the matter was referred to the AFP for investigation.
This amount of methamphetamine has an estimated street value of more than $33 million and could have been distributed as 360,000 street deals if it had reached the community.
AFP officers attended the airport and arrested the women.
They appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court yesterday, each charged with one count of importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug and one count of possessing commercial quantity of a border controlled drug.
These offences carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
AFP Detective Acting Superintendent Jarrod Ragg said the AFP remained “focused on disrupting criminals who seek to wreak harm and havoc in our communities through illicit substances”.
“Methamphetamine is linked to domestic violence, assaults on medical professionals, and violence on our streets. The AFP stands ready and able to respond to those who are willing to risk this social harm for a personal profit and greed.”
ABF Acting Superintendent Ian Beasant said that ABF officers were alert to criminal activity at the border and would use any available means to prevent the movement of illicit substances across the border.
“Our ABF officers are seizing significant quantities of illicit drugs at and beyond the border, wresting profits from the hands of criminals and intercepting anyone that may pose a threat to the community,” Beasant said.
Both women were remanded into custody to appear before court on March 13, 2026.
