Seven charged following investigation into Sydney drug smuggling syndicate

Sydney, June 3 (IANS) Seven men have been arrested and charged following a major investigation into a criminal syndicate importing drugs into Sydney.

The Multi Agency Strike Team (MAST), which consists of 41 officers from the police force in the state of New South Wales and federal law enforcement agencies, said on Tuesday that the seven men were arrested in connection with the alleged importation of over 300 kg of illicit drugs, Xinhua news agency reported.

A strike force was established in September 2023 to investigate the importation and supply of large quantities of prohibited drugs and illicit tobacco by a 42-year-old man and his associates.

The MAST said in a statement on Tuesday that the group had allegedly claimed to have the ability to circumvent Australian border controls and that the 42-year-old man was using a freight forwarding company in southwest Sydney to facilitate the importation of drugs.

Two members of the syndicate, aged 43 and 31, were arrested after police located more than 280 kg of liquid methamphetamine in an industrial cooler imported from Canada in August 2024.

Investigations continued into the 42-year-old, who allegedly used the freight company to import three separate consignments containing over 20 million cigarettes from the United Arab Emirates.

In May, MAST investigators established that the man was planning to import 50 kg of cocaine concealed in cement bags from Panama.

He and three others, including two Canadian nationals, were arrested after six search warrants were executed across west and southwest Sydney on Friday.

All four men, and the 43-year-old who was arrested in August 2024, were charged with offenses relating to the importation of commercial quantities of border-controlled drugs. If convicted, they each face a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

The 31-year-old who was arrested in August 2024 and a seventh man, a 36-year-old who was arrested at Sydney Airport on Saturday, were charged with lesser offenses.

The police said that 243 boxes of tobacco were seized from storage facilities as a result of further inquiries following Friday's arrests.

--IANS

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