Two Sydney men are among five people arrested after 448kg of MDMA was allegedly found concealed inside an excavator imported into Australia from the UK and later sold at an auction house in Brisbane.
Police will allege Tony Maaz, 33, and Raymond Lipovac, 42, shipped the excavator over from Southampton in England, knowing the drugs were inside.
The excavator was intercepted by Australian Border Force officials in Brisbane in March following a tip-off from international partners, and X-rayed by authorities before 226 plastic bags of MDMA, with an estimated street value of $79 million, were removed.
It was then sent to an auction house by three men in the UK and purchased by Sydney construction worker Mr Maaz for $200,000 before he shipped it down to a Sydney address, police will allege.
The findings prompted Australian Federal Police to search several homes across Sydney’s west on Wednesday, including across Blacktown, Mortlake, Homebush and Greystanes, seizing $1.2 million in cash.
Police will allege Mr Maaz and Mr Lipovac are behind the massive drug haul, alongside three other men, aged 53, 60 and 57, who were arrested in London earlier in the year.
The Australian pair now face a maximum of life behind bars if found guilty of attempting to possessing commercial quantities of border controlled drugs.
AFP Assistant Commissioner Eastern Command Justine Gough said the drugs allegedly hidden in the arm of the excavator were later tested and confirmed to be MDMA.
Police will also allege the men tried to cut the arm of the excavator open to reveal the illicit substance once it arrived in Sydney, but it had already been removed by officers.
“It’s alleged that the excavator was consigned to an auction house by people who exported from the United Kingdom,” she said.
“We will allege the man who purchased the excavator knew what was concealed within it.”
Police are not ruling out whether more people may have been involved in the alleged crime, but Assistant Commissioner Gough said officers are beginning the “slow and painful” process of filtering through evidence to “determine the players involved.”
The drugs were likely to hit the streets of Australia’s east coast, which would have had a devastating impact on communities, ABF Assistant Commissioner East and Port Operations Erin Dale said.
“If this hadn’t been detected it would have landed on our streets and could have had a tragic impact on individuals and families,” she said.
“Criminals think their concealment methods may allow them to sneak drugs over the border but it won’t.”
Assistant Commissioner Gough described the east coast as a “lucrative market” for drugs.
“It certainly presented an opportunity to make money through organised crime,” she said.
Heavy machinery has been used multiple times to attempt to import drugs into Australia, with Assistant Commissioner Gough noting cars have been used in the past.
“This underlines the innovative ways in which organised crime groups conceal drugs into Australia,” she said.
The two Sydney men appeared in court on Monday and will reappear on February 3.
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2020-12-11 00:53:59Z
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