UPDATE: A Kings Park man will face the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Friday following a joint federal-state police operation that uncovered 50 kilograms of ice with a street value of $50 million.
The 33-year-old man has been charged by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) with importing a commercial quantity border-controlled drug, namely methamphetamine, and attempting to possess commercial quantities of a border-controlled drug.
The maximum penalty for these offences is life imprisonment.
The AFP joined forces with Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ACBPS), Australian Crime Commission (ACC) and Victoria Police after customs during an X-ray inspection intercepted a consignment of 70 boxes of porcelain toilets at the Melbourne Container Examination Facility on July 25.
The operation led to the seizure of more than 50 kilograms of methamphetamine.
The AFP in a statement said it would be alleged in the court that boxes from the consignment containing the methamphetamine were moved to the Kings Park residence of the 33-year-old man’s mother.
AFP and Victoria Police members executed search warrants on six premises in Kings Park, Taylors Hill, Southbank, South Melbourne and Tullamarine, also seizing about $70,000 cash and three casino chips valued at $1000 each.
AFP Melbourne office manager Bruce Giles said the operation was an excellent example of Australian law enforcement agencies cooperating effectively to target illicit drug importations.
Victoria Police Crime Command Assistant Commissioner Stephen Fontana said the operation sent a strong message to those involved in the illicit drug trade.
The Kings Park man will face the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday charged with importing a commercial quantity of a controlled drug – for which the maximum penalty is life imprisonment.
