Tokyo, 25 May, /AJMEDIA/
Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Australian Border Force said in a joint statement on Wednesday that more than 300 kg of methamphetamine were seized in Sydney, according to Xinhua.
According to the statement, the seized methamphetamine could have been sold as more than 3 million individual street deals and reached an estimated street value of over 273 million Australian dollars (about 180 million U.S. dollars).
The drugs were hidden inside a steel hydraulic press, which arrived into the Australian state of New South Wales by ship on April 18.
Engineering experts identified a white substance deep inside the machinery, after drilling into the core of the hydraulic press.
The machinery was pulled apart to reveal 79 circle-shaped blocks of methamphetamine. The blocks were stored within two lead-lined tubs in a bid to evade detection.
“Methamphetamine causes immense harm. On average, 33 people were hospitalized each day in Australia for methamphetamine-related incidents in 2020-21,” said AFP Detective Sergeant Salam Zreika.
Zreika noted that the funding needed to obtain 300 kg of methamphetamine, and to develop such a complex concealment method could be achieved only by a well-established organized crime syndicate.
