Australian police discover 1.2 tonnes of crystal meth in biggest drugs bust ever

Martin Coulter22 December 2017

West Australian police have conducted their biggest ever drugs bust after seizing a record 1.2 tonnes of crystal meth.

Eight men have been charged in connection with the bust, with each of them now facing potential jail time of life imprisonment.

A police stakeout targeted a small boat arriving at the Port of Geraldton, in West Australia, at around 2am on Thursday morning.

Officers seized 59 bags, each containing 20kg of methamphetamine, as they were being transported from the boat into a white van.

Australian police discovered 1.2 tonnes of methamphetamine
Australian Police

Police arrested the three occupants of the van: a 33-year-old man from southern Sydney and two men from NSW, aged 38 and 52.

They also boarded the boat and arrested three crew members onboard: a 45-year-old man from the New South Wales and two men from South Australia, aged 48 and 44.

Another two men from South Australia, both aged 37, were later arrested at a hotel in Hillarys in northern Perth for their alleged involvement in this drug importation.

A police spokesman said: “The success of this operation is a testament to the patience and dedication of our investigators, who have been working around the clock in the lead-up to Christmas to disrupt this record importation.

"This result is the culmination of several months of hard work by officers and staff from a number of state and federal agencies and, once again, together we have stopped a significant amount of methamphetamine before it could reach the Australian community."

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