December 10, 2007 Sydney, Australia
20 Kilograms of Crystal Methamphetamine sent from Canada seized

Three men will face court today charged with attempting to possess approximately 20 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine (ICE), following a Joint Asian Crime Group (JACG) operation.

A 27-year-old man will today appear in Central Local Court while two 50-year-old men will appear in Sutherland Local Court.

As a result of enquiries by JACG investigators, Customs officers found the crystalline substance contained within the wax walls of candles, which arrived in Sydney on 10 December.

The consignment, which came by sea from Canada, has an estimated potential street value of $8 million.

JACG officers monitored the delivery of the consignment to a Riverwood house in Sydney's south.

The three were arrested and charged with attempt to possess a border controlled drug contrary to section 307.5 under the Criminal Code Act 1995. JACG Coordinator Detective Chief Inspector John Lehmann said the seizure would have a significant impact on the availability of ice.

"We will continue our work to target those people involved in the trafficking of illicit drugs into Australia, and in particular New South Wales," Detective Chief Inspector Lehmann said.

"The collaboration between state and federal agencies is essential to the success of these operations."

"Further inquiries are being conducted, with the assistance of Canadian authorities, to identify the origin of these illicit drugs," he said.

The JACG is a multi-agency, multi-disciplinary unit comprising the AFP, NSW Police Force, Australian Customs Service, the Australian Crime Commission and the NSW Crime Commission. The specialist expertise of its member agencies is used to target major organised criminal activity of Asian syndicates in NSW.

The maximum penalty for this offence is life imprisonment and/or an $825,000 fine.

Source: Australia Customs/Federal Police