MELBOURNE: A 51 years Japanese man busted by customs officers at Melbourne Airport with more than half a million dollars’ worth of heroin inside him is facing up to 25 years in jail.
Yoshitaka Hamada, 51, concealed 100 5cm-long pellets containing more than 500 grams of the drug in his body before landing on a Thai Airways flight from Bangkok on August 22 last year.
The heroin, which Hamada passed over the following 24 hours, had a purity of 64 per cent and an estimated street value of around $530,000.
Hamada pleaded guilty to importing a marketable quantity of a border controlled drug at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court.
His 66-year-old co-accused, fellow Japanese national Shozo Maeda, pleaded not guilty to the same charge.
Court documents allege the men were acting suspiciously at the airport and entered separate customs queues.
After being questioned, they allegedly claimed to have been strangers until that day but had different answers for where they met.
Police allege Mr Maeda had previously sent Hamada numerous text messages and his notebook had several references to Hamada and possible references to drugs.
Court documents allege he regularly visited Bangkwang Central Prison in Bangkok and had a history of travelling between Thailand and Australia. Hamada has previously spent time in jail and will reappear for a plea hearing at the County Court in March.
