SYDNEY, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- Australian law enforcement has halted a shipment of more than 150 kg of methamphetamine, worth an estimated 16.9 million Australian dollars (11.1 million U.S. dollars), as it arrived in the city of Melbourne from Mexico, authorities said Monday.
According to the Australian Federal Police (AFP), a 26-year-old Canadian-French dual national and a 34-year-old Sydney man had both been charged with crimes relating to the 154 kg shipment -- the maximum penalty of which is life in prison.
The drugs were allegedly concealed within a 19-tonne shipment of silver concentrate which arrived in Melbourne in early 2020.
The package was intercepted thanks to a cooperative effort between members of the Victorian Joint Organized Crime Task Force (JOCTF) and international law enforcement agency partners, including the Indian Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).
"Together, the JOCTF has prevented 154 kilograms of illicit drugs from reaching the community and causing considerable harm, while also simultaneously dismantling and disrupting the work of an organized crime syndicate," AFP Acting Assistant Commissioner Bruce Giles said.
Both the Canadian-French dual national and the Sydney man face court on Tuesday.
"Every day police see first-hand both the physical and health impacts of drugs on users, but also the immense damage to the broader community done by the trafficking of these illicit substances," Victoria Police Crime Command Assistant Commissioner Tess Walsh said.
"(This incident) also highlights the fact that drugs and organized crime are not just Victorian issues -- they cross borders and we make no apology for targeting those who seek to bring that harm here."
