Australia, Colombia smash major int'l drug cartel
Australian police officials say they have broken up an international criminal syndicate in a joint operation with Colombia, arresting six men and seizing more than 480 kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine hidden in lemonade bottles and flower boxes.
Australian Federal Police Detective Superintendent Mick Calatzis told reporters on Friday that Australian police and customs officers discovered 230 kilograms of liquid methamphetamine with a street value of about 156 million Australian dollars (USD122 million) in December last year.
The narcotics had been hidden in 20,000 bottles of liquid declared as "Splash Drink" lemonade, which entered Sydney in shipping containers and were stored in a warehouse.
Calatzis added that Colombian police also found 253 kilograms of cocaine concealed in boxes of flowers and destined for Europe and Australia in January and February.
In January, Colombian law enforcement authorities seized 243 kilograms of cocaine in the capital of Bogota. The cocaine had been hidden in cardboard boxes of fresh flowers that were to be transported by air.
Last week, Colombian police examined 2 tons of fresh flowers bound for Sydney, and found 10 kilograms of cocaine.
Calatzis said Australian and Colombian police authorities had been secretly working together against the drug syndicate since May 2014.
"We are cutting the head of the snake off here," said Tim Fitzgerald from the Australian Customs and Border Protection after six men in Sydney were charged. "This syndicate has been dismantled."
Fitzgerald added the syndicate used air and sea cargo to smuggle drugs into Australia.
"In relation to the flavored water, it's not uncommon for us to come across that method of concealment where the narcotics are suspended in the liquid," he said.
"Then when it reaches here, technically someone is engaged to then dry out the liquid and you are left with whatever substance that was originally suspended in the liquid," Fitzgerald noted.
The six men – five Australians and a Spanish-Colombian national – were arrested on Tuesday and charged with importing a commercial quantity of illicit drugs.
They appeared in a Sydney court on Wednesday, and their next hearing will be held in May. They will be handed life imprisonment if convicted.
MP/NN/HMV
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