- Three women arrested at Melbourne airport
- Australian police stop attempted cocaine import
Four people, including the alleged ringleader of a global drug mule syndicate, have been arrested after attempting to smuggle 30kg of cocaine into Australia.
Federal police arrested and charged three women at Melbourne Airport on April 12 after discovering approximately 10kg of cocaine hidden inside six suitcases.
The illicit drugs, which have an estimated street value of $10 million, were found after US authorities notified border officials of the arrest of a fourth woman at the Los Angeles airport on April 11.
The three women, aged 22, 24 and 35, were passengers on a flight from Los Angeles to Melbourne.
Federal police arrested and charged three women at Melbourne Airport on April 12 after discovering approximately 10kg of cocaine hidden inside six suitcases.
A 55-year-old man accused of running the drug mule operation was arrested and charged by authorities after arriving at Melbourne airport this week.
The man, an American national, has been charged with two counts related to the importation and possession of cocaine and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The three women were each charged with one count of importation and possession of a commercial quantity of cocaine.
The man appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on April 17 and the women on April 13, where they were all remanded in custody.
They are all scheduled to reappear in court on August 5.
AFP Detective Superintendent Simone Butcher claimed drug couriers were driven by “money and greed” and claimed they would have done anything to import illicit substances into Australia.
“A dangerous amount of cocaine was seized as a result of intelligence sharing between Australian and international law enforcement agencies,” Detective Superintendent Butcher said.
“This attempted importation of some 30 kilos of cocaine would have an estimated street value of almost $10 million if it had reached our streets.”