As law enforcement around the world work to keep up with crafty drug dealers, Australian Police recently intercepted a huge trade. This time though, smugglers hid their stash somewhere you’d least expect it. Almost half a ton of MDMA (ecstasy), calculated to be worth $57 million, was found hidden inside four industrial meat mincing machines. It is reported that the machines were located inside a shipping container that arrived from Turkey on September 28th. In fact, this huge shipment would have been able to produce 1.7 million pills!
“HAD THIS DRUG SEIZURE MADE ITS WAY TO AUSTRALIAN STREETS, COUNTLESS LIVES WOULD HAVE BEEN AFFECTED. WHETHER IT BE USERS, HEALTH CARE WORKERS THAT DEAL WITH DRUG ISSUES EACH AND EVERY DAY, OR THE FAMILY THAT HAS BEEN TORN APART WHEN DEATHS OCCUR FROM ILLICIT SUBSTANCE ABUSE.” – Kristy Schofield
So far, three men have been charged in connection with the bust. Those arrested include a 27 year-old man from Guildford, a 29-year-old man from Lidcombe, and a 24-year-old man from Coogee. If the drugs weren’t found, it’s assumed they would’ve been pressed into pills and sold on the streets. AFP Detective Superintendent Kirsty Schofield, a coordinator on the scene, expressed the importance of intercepting trades like this before they endanger the general public. With this successful bust, we can only imagine where smugglers will think to conceal drugs next.
