SYDNEY: Two Iranian men have been charged with smuggling A$16 million (about NZ$17.5m) worth of opium into Melbourne inside part of a roadworks machine.
Authorities discovered 12.4kg of opium resin in the base of an asphalt compacting machine which arrived by air from Turkey on January 9.
Federal police converged on the planned delivery address at St Albans in Melbourne’s west on Thursday, where two men, aged 22 and 38, accepted the machine before driving it to another home at nearby Burnside Heights.
They were arrested and charged with importing and possessing a marketable quantity of a border-controlled drug.
The bust prompted a message from Australian Border Force acting Commander Mark Colbran to the would-be smugglers.
“You will get caught and may face significant time in prison,” he said on Friday.
