Dramatic moment when police arrest a man after seizing 336kg of heroin in Australia’s second-largest-ever bust
- Largest heroin bust in Queensland history
- Dramatic video shows AFP arresting the man
Police vision reveals the dramatic moment when a man was arrested in connection with Australia’s second-largest heroin shipment ever, as part of an international drug smuggling operation.
Authorities seized 336kg of heroin in a sting that uncovered the drugs hidden in a shipping container sent from Malaysia to the Port of Brisbane.
The cargo was concealed in two concrete blocks, each weighing about 500kg, and marked as solar panel accessories in a sea freight container targeting an industrial estate in Brendale, north of Brisbane.
Border guards discovered the stash after the shipment docked on March 13 and identified hundreds of packages hidden in the cement block.
A Sydney man, who allegedly collected the shipment in Brisbane before it was transported to NSW, was arrested as part of a joint operation between the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Border Force.
The 55-year-old Auburn man has been charged with importing a commercial amount of drugs into the border. He is expected to appear before Parramatta local court on Wednesday.
The heroin has an estimated street value of $268.8 million and is the largest amount ever seized in Queensland.
Authorities seized 960 drug packages from the concrete blocks before tracking the shipment to Brendale.
A joint operation between the Australian Border Force and the Australian Federal Police has uncovered the second largest drug bust in the country’s history: 336 kg of heroin (pictured)
Police arrested a man outside a Mount Druitt barn (pictured) in western Sydney, after tracing the shipment to where it was to be processed
Police allege the shipment was driven to Sydney in a rental truck before being delivered to an industrial warehouse in Mount Druitt on March 30.
The shipment remained under surveillance when the suspect returned to the shed on Friday and reportedly used industrial tools to cut into the concrete to access the drugs.
AFP officers arrested him as he left the shed as authorities raided homes and businesses across NSW and Queensland, including Brendale in Queensland and Mount Druitt, Blacktown, Auburn, Cecil Park and Constitution Hill in NSW.
Police seized more than $700,000 worth of jewelry from the Auburn man’s home, while also seizing electronic devices, cell phones, cash, hard drives and notebook computers.
In addition to the heroin bust, police seized more than $700,000 worth of jewelry from the arrested man’s home in Auburn (pictured)
AFP commander John Tanti said the capture was a crushing blow to the smuggling operation.
“The AFP is committed to preventing criminals from using the Pacific Ocean as a maritime drug highway and will continue to identify and disrupt transnational organized crime syndicates seeking to harm Australia and generate millions of dollars in profits from criminal activity,” he said.
The investigation is ongoing.