ID :
207576
Fri, 09/16/2011 - 16:19
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http://m.oananews.org//node/207576
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High dollar 'good for drug importers'
SYDNEY (AAP)- 16.09 2011-The high Australian dollar may be wreaking havoc for some businesses but the seizure of 271kg of cocaine in Victoria shows it's giving drug cartels more bang for their buck, police say.
With an estimated street value of $200 million, the haul is the fifth-largest cocaine seizure in Australian history and the largest in Victoria.
Three men have been charged over the find, discovered in a shipping container of eight ride-on lawnmowers that arrived in Melbourne from Brazil on August 19.
An X-ray followed by a physical examination revealed 29 wooden boxes within the lawnmower crates, which contained 271 vacuum-sealed plastic bags containing the drug.
Australian Federal Police crime operations manager Peter Sykora said 300 officers from six agencies in Victoria and interstate, including Customs and Border Protection, had spent a month working on the case.
He warned that although Australia may be seen as an attractive market for drug importers due to the high dollar, it was no pushover.
"We're seen as a very attractive and lucrative market here," he told reporters in Melbourne on Friday.
"Our Australian dollar is very strong so it's quite beneficial for them to import the narcotics here.
"They know their markets and where their market will get the best bang for their dollar.
"We are not a light touch. We follow the money and we'll follow them around the world."
He said police were working with their international counterparts to determine who else was involved in the importation.
"We believe that it's a fairly significant syndicate," Commander Sykora said.
"To get your hands on 271kg of cocaine from South America is quite significant and to undertake that procedure requires some sophistication, not only in moving that amount but also the way that these syndicates communicate with each other."
A 20-year-old Melbourne man, Samuel Yung, and two Chinese, Pak Lau, 33 and Yiu Yim, 35, were arrested on Thursday night after raids on properties and storage facilities in the Melbourne CBD.
The men were remanded in custody after appearing in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Friday charged with importing and attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.
The maximum penalty for importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug is life imprisonment and/or an $825,000 fine.
With an estimated street value of $200 million, the haul is the fifth-largest cocaine seizure in Australian history and the largest in Victoria.
Three men have been charged over the find, discovered in a shipping container of eight ride-on lawnmowers that arrived in Melbourne from Brazil on August 19.
An X-ray followed by a physical examination revealed 29 wooden boxes within the lawnmower crates, which contained 271 vacuum-sealed plastic bags containing the drug.
Australian Federal Police crime operations manager Peter Sykora said 300 officers from six agencies in Victoria and interstate, including Customs and Border Protection, had spent a month working on the case.
He warned that although Australia may be seen as an attractive market for drug importers due to the high dollar, it was no pushover.
"We're seen as a very attractive and lucrative market here," he told reporters in Melbourne on Friday.
"Our Australian dollar is very strong so it's quite beneficial for them to import the narcotics here.
"They know their markets and where their market will get the best bang for their dollar.
"We are not a light touch. We follow the money and we'll follow them around the world."
He said police were working with their international counterparts to determine who else was involved in the importation.
"We believe that it's a fairly significant syndicate," Commander Sykora said.
"To get your hands on 271kg of cocaine from South America is quite significant and to undertake that procedure requires some sophistication, not only in moving that amount but also the way that these syndicates communicate with each other."
A 20-year-old Melbourne man, Samuel Yung, and two Chinese, Pak Lau, 33 and Yiu Yim, 35, were arrested on Thursday night after raids on properties and storage facilities in the Melbourne CBD.
The men were remanded in custody after appearing in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Friday charged with importing and attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.
The maximum penalty for importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug is life imprisonment and/or an $825,000 fine.
