Our first joint operation this year involves officers from the NSW Police Force State Crime Command Firearms Squad, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ACBPS).
This investigation has lasted a whole fourteen months and has come to a close with the arrest of three men.
The three men included a twenty-nine year old from Parklea, a forty-three year old dual Australian/Iranian national along with a thirty-four year old man from Green Valley.
Two of the men are alleged to have imported approx five kilograms of pseudoephedrine from Iran via international mail and freight systems. The drugs were hidden in shipments of loose tea. The thirty-four year old man was alleged to be the recipient of the drugs.
The man from Parklea is also alleged to have received a shipment in August of 2014 of pseudoephedrine. This contraband arrived via air cargo, the commodity was also tea which contained approx 20kgs of the drug.
On Saturday 14th February, the dual Australian/Iran man was arrested upon arriving back into the country from Iran. The other two men were arrested a short time later.
These arrests are the result of a 14 month investigation into the supply of pseudoephedrine in South Western Sydney commenced by the NSW Police.
The 29-year-old Parklea man was charged with:
Importation of a commercial quantity of border controlled precursors;
- Supplying a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug
- Supplying a commercial quantity of a prohibited drug
- Possess prohibited weapon without a permit
- Possess ammunition without holding a licence.
The 43-year-old Australian/Iranian national was charged with:
- importation of a commercial quantity of border controlled precursors.
- Supplying a commercial quantity of a prohibited drug
The 34-year-old Green Valley man has been charged with:
- Knowingly take part in the supply of a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug
The commander of the NSW Police Force Firearms Squad, Detective A/Superintendent Joe Doueihi said tackling this drug continues to be a priority for the NSW Police Force.
“This has been a drawn out investigation due to the complex and well disguised methods used by an international organised-criminal syndicate,” he said. “The tenacity and skill shown by investigators to discover the methods used and then dismantle the syndicate has been exemplary. It shows that the NSWPF is committed to fighting organised crime and our reach is significantly extended, particularly when working cooperatively with federal agencies. This is a significant seizure of precursors. It could have been used to manufacture up to 30kg of ‘ice’ (methylamphetamine), with an estimated potential street value of $6.5 million.”
The offences carry a maximum term of imprisonment of 25 years.
