Australian Federal Police have seized the largest shipment of a deadly illicit drug in the nation’s history before it hit the streets.
Australian Federal Police (AFP) reveal they pulled off the largest seizure of opioid fentanyl last year after it was smuggled inside a piece of machinery that arrived at the Port of Melbourne.
AFP Acting Commander Anthony Hall told a press conference on Monday that officers stopped five million potentially lethal doses of fentanyl from hitting the streets.
Fentanyl is a fast-acting opioid that is highly addictive and acts on the same receptors in the body as heroin.
Australian Border Force (ABF) Commander James Watson said officers found 11kg of pure fentanyl and 30kg of methamphetamine, with a street value of $27m.
Paramedics were reportedly on hand during the two-week extraction operation due to the possible exposure risk and AFP officers wore protective biohazard suits.
The drugs were hidden inside an industrial wooden lathe – machinery used for wood or metal working.
The lathe was sent to an ABF container examination facility where it was X-rayed and found to have a large amount of ‘inorganic material’ inside.
When officers drilled into the machine they found a light-brown substance that when tested came back positive for fentanyl.
“We were absolutely shocked by the size of the detection and the audacity of the attempted importation,” Commander Watson said.
“I’d describe it as a total act of bastardry, quite frankly. The impact of this on our community, had it reached the streets … it doesn’t bear thinking about.”
The shipment arrived in Melbourne on December 2021, but officers only inspected the container in February this year.
A joint investigation involving AFP, ABF and the Department of Home Affairs is seeking witnesses to come forward with any information relating to the importation.
It is highly unusual to find the drug in Australia. Less than 30g of fentanyl has been illegally imported here before.
The size of the bust was so surprising that officers were not able to estimate the street value of the drug.
“So to have a detection of 11kg pure is just quite frankly extraordinary,” ABF Commander James Watson said.
The drug is used by medical professionals, but recent reports suggest it has been added to heroin and cocaine sales in countries like the US.
A dose of fentanyl can be fatal at just 28mg.
“People who use illicit drugs can never be certain of what they are ingesting and this seizure highlights the potentially lethal game of Russian roulette that they play,” Commander Hall said.
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