Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ACBPS) officers has charged a 55-year-old United States national for importing prohibited items to Australia. The man has been charged with importing approximately four kilograms of methamphetamine (also known as ‘ice’) and two kilograms of heroin into Sydney International Airport.
Methamphetamine – meth for short – is a very addictive stimulant drug. It is a powder that can be made into a pill or a shiny rock (called a crystal). The powder can be eaten or snorted up the nose. It can also be mixed with liquid and injected into your body with a needle.
Crystal methamphetamine (‘ice’) Ice usually comes as small chunky clear crystals that look like ice. It can also come as white or brownish crystal-like powder with a strong smell and bitter taste. Crystal meth is smoked in a small glass pipe.
Heroin is an opioid drug made from morphine. Heroin can be a white or brown powder, or a black sticky substance known as black tar heroin. Other common names for heroin include big H, horse, hell dust, and smack.
Officers of Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ACBPS) selected the man for a baggage examination when he arrived on a flight from Manila via Singapore. Even after getting the bag emptied the suitcase was found to be excessively heavy. During X-rays examination an unknown substance was found concealed in the lining of a suitcase. On testing this turned positive result for methamphetamine.
Officers continued with the investigation and found another unknown substance concealed within the lining of a black leather satchel. The case was handed over to Australian Federal Police (AFP) and they charged the man with two counts of importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug, namely methamphetamine and heroin. The offence can attract a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
