CANBERRA, Australia — Australian police seized a record 527 pounds of the illicit drug methamphetamine smuggled from Europe and have charged four suspects, officials said today.
The four men — two Australians, a Belgian and a Dutchman — face a maximum penalty of life in prison over the drug haul, which police value at 50 million Australian dollars ($54 million).
The suspects were arrested in Sydney and the western coastal city of Perth in operations starting in late March. They have been charged with trafficking commercial quantities of a controlled drug, also known as ice, and possession of the drug, Australian Federal Police said in a statement.
Assistant Commissioner Kevin Zuccato alleged the 41-year-old Belgian and the 43-year-old Dutchman — whose names have not been released — ran the operation from Sydney’s upscale eastern beachside suburbs on behalf of a global syndicate.
The Associated Press
