Canadians arrested in Aussie drug bust
Vancouver pair latest snagged at Australia airport
Two more Canadians, this time a man and a woman from Vancouver, have been arrested at an airport and accused of trying to get into Australia with illegal drugs hidden in their luggage, police say.
The case further illustrates a growing trend of seizures at Australia’s borders.
A 27-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman flew into Melbourne from Vancouver on Saturday, where Australian Border Force (ABF) officers found four one-kilogram packages of methamphetamine inside each of four suitcases, for a total seizure of 16 kilos.
The couple, whose names have not been released, were flagged for additional scrutiny.
“As a result of an officer’s intuition, these passengers were targeted for a baggage search. When the contents of the male passenger’s suitcase was emptied by ABF officers, they noted that it still seemed unusually heavy,” said Craig Palmer, an ABF regional commander.
That led to the man’s luggage being X-rayed.
“Similar discrepancies were found with the suitcases of the female passenger,” Palmer said.
A bag of white crystalline material was allegedly found in the lining of each suitcase; both bags of material tested positive for meth.
As a result, Australian Federal Police (AFP) charged the pair with importation of a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug and two counts of possessing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.
The maximum penalty is life in prison, although actual sentences for situations like this, while significant, are usually much lower.
“The AFP is continuing its inquiries into the source of this drug importation to target and identify organized criminal networks using couriers to profit from potentially vulnerable and drug-impacted individuals,” said Jayne Crossling, an AFP acting commander of investigations.
While the pair was given added scrutiny based on “intuition” of border guards, given recent arrests, it could well be that a Canadian passport was enough of a red flag.
The incident closely mirrors other recent cases, in which a spate of Canadians have been arrested and charged at Australian airports and ports for drug smuggling.
Some were found with drugs hidden in suitcases and others were alleged to be importing drugs on a larger scale, by mailing or shipping cargo with drugs hidden inside. Last week, a 26-yearold dual national of Canada and France was charged with importing about $15 million worth of methamphetamine from Mexico into Australia, concealed in a shipment of silver concentrate.
In January it was two kilograms of methamphetamine found in a Polo Ralph Lauren suitcase that saw a 31-yearold Canadian man arrested; in December, a Canadian was accused of being a representative of a “high-level transnational organized crime syndicate” and importing 645 kilos of ecstasy in a shipment of barbecues.
In July, police said $1 million worth of meth was hidden as the liquid inside souvenir snow globes sent from Canada, and a Canadian woman travelling to Australia with her young son was caught at the airport with cocaine in her luggage.
Australian authorities list Canada as a key source for cocaine, cannabis, methamphetamine, hallucinogenic drugs and other chemical drugs, including gamma hydroxybutyrate, known as GHB, and ketamine.
The Vancouver man and woman are in custody with a scheduled court appearance on May 22.