A 27-year-old Perth woman has been sentenced to seven years and six months’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of four years and six months, after a jury convicted her of attempting to possess a commercial quantity of methamphetamine.
She was one of two family members arrested for their roles in a failed 2021 scheme to import 5 kg of methamphetamine into Australia by international mail.
Her father, 67, pleaded guilty to the same charge and received a six-year sentence, backdated to September 2021. Both the daughter and her father were convicted under sections 11.1 and 307.5(1) of the Criminal Code (Cth).
The operation began when Australian Border Force officers intercepted a package from the United States addressed to a Mirrabooka residence in August 2021. Inside 21 A4 envelopes, hidden between sheets of paper, was a white substance later confirmed by testing to be more than 80 per cent pure methamphetamine. AFP officers replaced the illicit cargo with an inert substance and delivered it under surveillance; the pair then opened, weighed and photographed the packages before officers moved in to arrest them.
AFP Inspector Chris Colley praised the collaborative effort, noting that “while 5 kg of methamphetamine might seem like a relatively small amount, it equates to about 50,000 individual street deals and methamphetamine causes significant community harm.”
He added that “on average, 38 people were hospitalised each day in Australia for methamphetamine-related incidents in 2022-23,” underlining the urgency of law-enforcement action.
“The AFP and our partners remain committed to protecting the community from the scourge of drugs and to targeting those individuals who seek to profit from the illicit trade,”
Insp Colley said.
Acting Superintendent Carmen Lee of the ABF emphasised the power of data and intelligence in stopping such plots, “even those as unsophisticated as this one.”
She explained that officers inspect over a million mail items nationwide each week and “continue to work hand in glove with our law-enforcement partners to monitor intelligence and observe trends to ensure we are stopping these harmful substances from saturating our communities, and ensure those responsible are held to account.”
Help and support
If you or someone you know needs advice about drug or alcohol treatment, call the National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline on 1800 250 015.
- Access free 24/7 drug and alcohol counselling online.
- For information about drug and alcohol addiction treatment or support, go to the Turning Point website.
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