The 42-year-old Aussie man was arrested at Sydney Airport on March 4 after he flew in from South East Asia, where police believe he has been hiding out since August 2012.
Police believe the man stored 1kg of cocaine and 5kg of meth in a safe house in Hong Kong before he worked with a courier to transport the drugs to Australia in July 2012.
The man allegedly secreted the drugs inside the body of a plane bound for Sydney in 2012.
When the plane arrived in Sydney, a “trusted insider” – one of three men already convicted and sentenced for the drug importation – removed the drugs and drove them to his car.
The convicted “trusted insider” was arrested in the airport carpark.
Police also seized $1.6 million in cash during the investigation into the drug import, which was led by the AFP, New South Wales Police Force, Australian Border Force (ABF) and Hong Kong Customs and Excise.
The 42-year-old man has been charged with importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug and importing a marketable quantity of a border controlled drug.
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He will face Downing Centre Local Court today, after he fronted Parramatta Local Court and was remanded into custody.
The maximum penalty for the offences is life imprisonment and 25 years’ imprisonment, respectively.
AFP Detective Superintendent Morgen Blunden has warned time will not be on the side of alleged drug importers if they try to remain outside the country to avoid prosecution.
“The AFP is on constant alert for anyone with an outstanding arrest warrant attempting to re-enter the country,” Superintendent Blunden said.
“They might think that we will forget about their alleged crimes if they stay away long enough, but they are wrong.”
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