Australian man charged over role in US drug trafficking operation
Sydney, June 12 (IANS/GURPUNEET SIDHU):- An Australian man is facing life in prison after being charged by federal authorities over his alleged involvement in a US drug trafficking operation.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Australian Border Force (ABF) said on Thursday that the 38-year-old man from Sydney has been charged with five offences relating to his alleged involvement in the US operation that imported 48 kg of illicit drugs into Australia.
The man was arrested on Tuesday following an investigation that began in December 2023 after ABF officers intercepted 24 separate consignments from the US containing illicit drugs over a three-month span, reports Xinhua news agency.
The AFP and ABF said in a joint statement that the consignments contained a combined 18 kg of methamphetamine and 30 kg of cocaine.
They said that the 38-year-old man monitored the consignments while they were in transit and was prepared to collect them on arrival in Australia. He is also accused of receiving 125,000 Australian dollars (81,113.5 US dollars) in suspected proceeds of crime and laundering it on behalf of two individuals.
AFP officers executed searches at two western Sydney properties on Tuesday and seized cash, 1 kg of cocaine, ammunition and four pistols. Three mobile phones in the man’s possession at the time of his arrest were also seized.
He was charged with one count of aiding and abetting the importation of a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, as well as firearms, drug supply and dealing with the proceeds of crime offences.
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