Indonesia helps AFP bust drug syndicate: [1 All-round Country Edition]
Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 30 June 2006: 5.
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Abstract
A MAJOR drug pipeline between Indonesia and Australia has been disrupted after Australian Federal Police and Indonesian authorities busted the largest pseudoephedrine smuggling syndicate ever uncovered.
The breakthrough in the case came on Monday last week when Customs and the AFP uncovered $22million worth of pseudoephedrine tablets hidden in a shipping container at Port Botany in Sydney that had arrived from Jakarta.
Police suspect the group has imported a total of more than 380kg of pseudoephedrine in at least six importations since February last year. It is estimated thepseudoephedrine imports could have been made into more than 250kg of methamphetamines, with a potential street value of $71million.
Full Text
A MAJOR drug pipeline between Indonesia and Australia has been disrupted after Australian Federal Police and Indonesian authorities busted the largest pseudoephedrine smuggling syndicate ever uncovered.
Pseudoephedrine, found in many over-the-counter cold and flu medications, is the precursor for methamphetamines including speed and ice.
Authorities say the illegal drugs are widely used by everyone from nightclubbers to students and truck drivers.
The breakthrough in the case came on Monday last week when Customs and the AFP uncovered $22million worth of pseudoephedrine tablets hidden in a shipping container at Port Botany in Sydney that had arrived from Jakarta.
The delivery of the container was monitored and about two million tablets were seized. Four people charged with the importation will appear in Sydney Central Local Court on August 30.
Two Indonesian men suspected of being principal members of the syndicate have been arrested by the Indonesian National Police.
Police suspect the group has imported a total of more than 380kg of pseudoephedrine in at least six importations since February last year. It is estimated thepseudoephedrine imports could have been made into more than 250kg of methamphetamines, with a potential street value of $71million.
AFP national border manager Mike Phelan said co-operation between Indonesia and Australia had been crucial to the success of the operation.
“This operation has resulted in a major cross-border syndicate being dismantled,” he said.
“If it wasn’t for this co-operation, more pseudoephedrine tablets could have reached Australian shores and been madeinto vast amounts of amphetamine-type substances.”
Paul Dillon, information manager for the National Alcohol and Drug Research Centre, said Australia could learn from overseas experience and avoid some of theserious consequences of methamphetamine abuse being seen in the US and elsewhere.
While it was unrealistic to ban pseudoephedrine, because of its legitimate uses, the tightening of sales in pharmacies this year — consumers must now give their name and address and are limited in the amount they can purchase — was the way to go.
“We should be concerned about the methamphetamine issue,” he said. “While we need to be careful we don’t slip into hysteria, there are a small proportion of users who are finding themselves in major difficulty.”