A 31-year-old American woman allegedly had $6.5 million worth of cocaine packed in her suitcase when she landed at Sydney Airport yesterday.
The woman who landed from LA allegedly had 14 black vacuum-sealed bags in her suitcase containing 20 kilograms of the drug.
Australian Federal Police officers arrested the woman after she was stopped for a baggage check, and say they seized the illegal drugs.
She faced charges for importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug, with the potential punishment being life imprisonment if found guilty.
AFP Superintendent Morgen Blunden noted that the cocaine’s estimated street value was $6.5 million, enough for 100,000 individual street-level transactions.
“The AFP and ABF continue to encounter and apprehend individuals willing to chance decades of incarceration for the sake of drug trafficking at our airports,” Blunden stated.
“The AFP collaborates closely with law enforcement partners to safeguard our communities and address the infiltration of illegal drugs through airport routes.
“Anyone contemplating drug smuggling through our airports should consider the consequences of such actions. If apprehended, they risk spending many prime years confined within a prison cell.”
