![\"Sky](\"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/sky-news-logo-1.png\"){kind=logo}
<\/a> news.sky.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A 1.8 tonne haul of liquid methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $1bn (\u00a3880m) has been seized by Australian police in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n
The class A drug, which was bound for Australia, had been found hidden in cartons of coconut water.<\/p>\n
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Australian Border Force (ABF) in Hong Kong worked with Hong Kong Customs and Excise (HKCE) to intercept what they said was a “record-breaking” stash.<\/p>\n
The AFP said the illicit consignment was identified using intelligence developed by AFP officers in Mexico and the Australian Department of Home Affairs.<\/p>\n
They said “international cooperation” then led HKCE to find the meth on 23 October.<\/p>\n
The drug – which is commonly referred to by its street name “ice” because of the glass-like appearance of its white crystals – had been bound for New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state.<\/p>\n
The AFP said the drugs had a wholesale value of $347m (\u00a3299m).<\/p>\n
In a statement, the AFP said: “Mexican-based officers used their international network to alert AFP officers in Hong Kong about the suspicious consignment being shipped from Mexico to Australia via Hong Kong.<\/p>\n
“Ongoing investigations are under way to identify the transnational serious organised criminals involved in the plot”.<\/p>\n
AFP Detective Superintendent Patrick Gordon, the AFP’s senior officer in Mexico, said: “The harsh reality is that Australia’s problem of illicit drug use is bankrolling a raft of dangerous and brutal cartels, triads and outlaw motorcycle gangs.<\/p>\n
“These criminals undermine our national security and our economy. They make our suburbs and roads less safe.<\/p>\n
“This amount of meth could have been sold as about 18 million street level deals, so the NSW and Australian community is safer because these drugs were seized.”<\/p>\n
Methamphetamine is one of the most potent varieties of amphetamine, with Australia having the highest meth addiction rate in the world, according to the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC).<\/p>\n
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Source: \u00a0<\/a> news.sky.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"