Australia jails Chinese woman 3 years after US$630 million record drug bust involving fake cocaine as a lure
- QianQian Hu has been involved in money laundering for a syndicate with links to a Mexican cartel
- Australian police pack fake cocaine in a sting operation after the interception of 2.4 tonnes of the actual drug
QianQian Hu was arrested in January near the Western Australian town of Coolgardie, two weeks after a group of men were rounded up off the Perth coast as they attempted to salvage 2.4 tonnes of cocaine belonging to a Mexican cartel.
Police officials said the operation began last November when the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) intercepted an Australia-bound ship off the coast of South America.
Western Australian police substituted the cargo with identically packed fake cocaine and dropped it 40 nautical miles west of Perth on December 28.
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Two days later, three suspected members of a drug syndicate were arrested with 1.2 tonnes of mock-up cocaine, after making multiple trips out through rough seas to collect the packages.
Police also conducted raids across Perth and apprehended 12 people. A further nine arrests were made in January, including during a traffic stop south of Coolgardie, where officers found more than US$1.2 million in cash stuffed inside bags kept in a car driven by Hu’s former partner Tao Zheng.
She denied any involvement with the seized money before pleading guilty to one count of money laundering in April.
A court heard that “Lovely Girl”, an anonymous member of a major drug ring, had directed Hu to pick up the money-laden bags hidden in bushland in the Perth suburb of Forrestdale, and then take them to the eastern states.
The 37-year-old was promised a payment of US$6,307 for the job.
Judge Charlotte Wallace said Hu was a dependable member of the gang despite being a low-level accomplice, given she was tasked with fetching the cash, public broadcaster ABC reported.
Judge Wallace added the woman’s illegal status in Australia, following the expiration of her student visa in 2021, was an aggravated factor in her offending.
“It indicates a disregard for the laws [of the nation] and it indicates a certain frame of mind,” she said.
The judge, quoting a statement by Hu’s parents, said “they believe you have lost your way temporarily, but they have a lot of faith in you”.
Hu was facing a maximum penalty of 20 years in jail, but judge Wallace took into account her guilty plea, as well as her minor role in the drug syndicate.
Her co-accused Zheng is set to face trial next year.
