A 21-year-old man has been arrested after Australian authorities confiscated a packet of “pink cocaine” weighing more than 250kg.
The cocaine, with a street value of almost $38 million, is Australia’s largest seizure of this new type of drug, which consists of a potentially deadly cocktail of illicit substances.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said an investigation into a transnational drug syndicate was launched after the drug interception in October.
The 252kg shipment was packaged with images of the Pink Panther cartoon character in an air cargo marked industrial and bound for suburban Sydney.
The AFP carried out a controlled delivery last week, where the shipment arrived at an address in Castle Hill and was allegedly accessed by a 21-year-old Matraville man.
He was arrested in Coogee shortly afterwards and charged with attempting to possess a commercial quantity of an illegally imported and border-controlled drug, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
One Direction star Liam Payne, 31, allegedly had pink cocaine in his system when he plunged three stories from a balcony to his death at the CasaSur hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in October.
Preliminary results of toxicology tests found traces of cocaine, benzodiazepines, crack and ‘pink cocaine’ in his system.
The 252kg transport was packaged with images of the Pink Panther cartoon character (pictured) in an air cargo marked industrial and bound for suburban Sydney.
The pink hue of the drug is made with food coloring and, ironically, does not usually contain cocaine.
Instead, it is a potent mixture of several drugs such as the veterinary tranquilizer ketamine, the stimulant and psychedelic MDMA, and amphetamines such as methamphetamine, although several recipes exist.
The drug is believed to originate in Colombia and has also been found in Europe and the United States, and often contains other drugs such as the dangerous opioid fentanyl.
The substance was also found in the system of American singer Camila Sterling, 24, who was found dead in the suite of a luxury Miami Beach hotel last year.
And there have also been reports from Spain of teenagers dying from pink cocaine, where police have called it a ‘bomb’ because of its effect on the body.
AFP acting superintendent Stuart Millen warned Australians the “dangerous cocktail of illicit drugs” could put lives at risk.
“The investigation is ongoing with our international partners and we expect more arrests to be made,” he told reporters.
‘We cannot exaggerate the damage to the community that this importation would have caused if it had not been intercepted by authorities before reaching our streets.
The drug shipment, which is actually a cocktail of several drugs, had a street value of about $38 million.
One Direction star Liam Payne died in October after falling from a balcony at a hotel in South America. He had multiple drugs, including pink cocaine, in his system, according to preliminary toxicology reports.
“AFP is closely monitoring the rise in pink cocaine detections, both in Australia and globally.”
Acting Superintendent Millen said the AFP had examined more than 130 kilos of pink cocaine in Australia in 2024, estimating it could sell for about $150,000 a kilo.
He said it was difficult to detect the presence of pink cocaine in wastewater as it was usually made up of other drugs and showed up as MDMA and ketamine.
The accused man was refused bail at Downing Center Local Court last Thursday and is expected to appear in court again in January.