An image released by Australian Federal Police of some of the 52 packages labelled as green tea, which turned out to contain methamphetamine
Photo: Australian Federal Police
A New Zealand woman has been arrested at Sydney Airport after she was caught trying to smuggle 52kg of methamphetamine into Australia.
The woman, 23, had been on a flight from Singapore on Monday.
She was arrested at Sydney Airport with a New South Wales woman after border officials found 52 packages in luggage labelled as Chinese tea.
The packages contained about 1kg of a white substance; initial testing indicated a positive result for methamphetamine.
Both women were charged with importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.
They appeared in the Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney on 29 October and were expected to reappear on 15 January 2025.
The arrests were part of the seizure of 77kg of methamphetamine and 26kg of cocaine in a 24-hour period at Sydney and Melbourne airports.
Australian Federal Police Superintendent Morgen Blunden said they had noticed an increase in alleged drug mules trying to import illicit drugs through airports in recent months.
“These arrests should send a strong warning to drug couriers attempting to smuggle illicit drugs into Australia – no matter how you try to move your drugs, the AFP, together with our colleagues at ABF, will be waiting for you.”
Australian Border Force Commander Travel Graeme Campbell said officers were stopping and detecting passengers at airports across the country almost daily.
“Some travellers are seemingly unaware of the life-altering risks of attempting to smuggle large quantities of border controlled drugs into our country – one decision can change the course of your life in an instant,” he said.
“This is an immense amount of illicit drugs which our officers have stopped from filtering through to the streets, hundreds of thousands of lives not put at risk due to these dangerous substances.
“Let this be a warning to criminal syndicates looking to exploit travellers entering Australia – ABF officers and our partner agencies are watching you, and we will do whatever we can to disrupt the supply chain.”