bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Reuters

Australian police said on Saturday they seized the largest heroin shipment ever detected in the country, worth an estimated A$140 million (US$104 million), and arrested a Malaysian national over the importation of the illicit drug.
The 450-kg shipment – as heavy as a grand piano – was detected in a sea freight container of ceramic tiles sent from Malaysia and addressed to a Melbourne business, the police said in a statement.
Authorities did not name the arrested man, a typical practice in Australia unless the police deem the identification of the suspect in the interest of a victim’s family or the public.
The Malaysian man was charged with importing and attempted possession of a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.
Thailand seizes heroin worth US$29 million bound for Australia
He faces a potential maximum penalty of life imprisonment if convicted.
The man was remanded in custody and is due to next appear in court in January 2022.
The Australian Federal Police was working with the Royal Malaysia Police (RMP), said Krissy Barrett, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Southern Command.
“We continue to work together in identifying and disrupting transnational organised crime syndicates that seek to harm both our nations and generate millions of dollars of profits from criminal activity,” Barrett said in a statement.
“We have a strong relationship with the Royal Malaysia Police (RMP) and in particular the RMP Narcotics Criminal Investigation Department.”
Kratom rush as Thai producers eye US exports of opioid-like herb
Authorities found 1,290 packages containing heroin within the shipment. The packages had distinctive red branding.
Investigators removed the heroin from the shipment and the consignment of tiles was delivered to an industrial area near Melbourne’s airport last week.
The police estimated the interception of the heroin saved 225 lives, based on their estimates that there was one death in the Australian community for around every 2 kilograms of heroin consumed.
Additional reporting by dpa


Meet Xochitl Gomez, the MCU actress rumoured to be dating Steve Irwin’s son, Robert Irwin

Asia’s housing affordability squeeze shows no signs of slowing

Australian summer bushfires destroy homes in 2 states as firefighter killed

In race for tourists, Singapore pumps up appeal with push into fitness events

Australia

Australian police seize record US$104 million worth of heroin, arrest Malaysian man

The 450-kg heroin haul is the largest shipment ever detected in Australia. Photo: Shutterstock

Covid-19 grounded planes, so drug traffickers in Southeast Asia took to the seas: new report

Methamphetamine pills known locally as “ya ba” on display in Thailand in 2020 to mark the United Nations’ “International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking”. Photo: AFP

4 Chinese drug traffickers killed in Philippines methamphetamine bust

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency officers and police pictured carrying out a raid in 2018. Photo: AFP

News

Asia

Australasia

Southeast Asia


The 450kg shipment was detected in a shipping container of ceramic tiles sent to Melbourne from Malaysia
A Malaysian national was arrested and charged over the importation of the illicit drug



The 450kg shipment was detected in a shipping container of ceramic tiles sent to Melbourne from Malaysia.


Malaysia

Drugs

Crime

Australian police seize record US$104 million worth of heroin, arrest Malaysian man

The 450kg shipment was detected in a shipping container of ceramic tiles sent to Melbourne from Malaysia A Malaysian national was arrested and charged over the importation of the illicit drug

The 450kg shipment was detected in a shipping container of ceramic tiles sent to Melbourne from Malaysia

A Malaysian national was arrested and charged over the importation of the illicit drug