Australian police bust Afghan crime syndicate linked to 98kg crystal meth Seizure

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AT News

KABUL – The Australian Federal Police have uncovered a major shipment of methamphetamine, totaling 98kg, concealed in wheat threshers. Acting on a tip, authorities arrested two individuals with alleged ties to an Afghan organized crime syndicate, accusing them of orchestrating the drug smuggling operation. The suspects reportedly arranged to receive the illicit drugs from a ship that departed Dubai and arrived in Melbourne in late November.

The breakthrough came after collaboration with international counterparts in Dubai and Serbia, providing crucial intelligence that led to the discovery of the concealed cache within the machines’ drive shafts. Investigators successfully delivered the machines, sans the drugs, to Oakleigh South in southeast Melbourne, where they were unloaded on the side of a road.

The subsequent investigation revealed that a 30-year-old man from Tullamarine oversaw the transportation of the machines to a property in the regional suburb of Dewhurst, outside Melbourne. Police conducted searches at both the Dewhurst property and the Tullamarine residence, where items suggestive of a clandestine drug laboratory were allegedly found.

Last week, authorities arrested the Tullamarine man and a 34-year-old man from Croydon Hills, with the latter accused of directing the former. Both suspects appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court on December 21, facing serious charges. The Tullamarine man is charged with attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug, while the Croydon Hills man is charged with importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug. If convicted, both offenses carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

The defendants are scheduled to appear in court again on March 13. The Victorian Joint Organized Crime Taskforce led the operation, involving collaboration from various agencies, including the Australian Federal Police, Victoria Police, Australian Border Force, Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, and the Department of Home Affairs.