Mexican drug cartels are targeting Australia, say police after busting a record A$1.29 billion of meth in joint US-Australia investigation
- The 1.7-tonne drugs haul – the largest seizure of meth in the US and the biggest haul bound for Australia – would have provided around 17 million hits of the drug
- Australian police say the investigation has exposed new links between Aussie biker gangs and Mexican cartels, which previously had been “sending smaller amounts” of drugs down under
Six people have been arrested after a massive 1.7 tonnes of methamphetamine, with a street value of A$1.29 billion (US$900 million), was seized in a joint investigation by Australian and United States authorities that exposed new ties between Mexican cartels and Aussie biker gangs.
The illicit cargo – the largest single seizure of methamphetamine in the US and the biggest haul of the drug bound for Australia – was hidden in shipping containers labelled as loudspeakers, said US authorities. It was seized in mid-January at the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex in California, along with smaller amounts of cocaine and heroin.
The meth haul would have provided around 17 million hits of the drug in Australia.
Australian authorities said the operation with the US Department of Homeland Security, Drug Enforcement Agency, Australian Federal Police and Victoria state police had stopped “a tsunami of ice” from reaching their shores.
The investigation appeared to reveal cooperation between Mexican cartels and Australian biker gangs, developing what authorities say is a worrying new vector for drugs to arrive to Australia.
