A 40-year-old man who runs a fruit and vegetable business on Sydney’s north shore is among three people charged after $76 million worth of methamphetamine was allegedly found crammed into plastic pallets shipped into Australia by a crime gang based in Mexico.
The Hornsby man was the alleged Australian contact for the syndicate alongside two US men, aged 42 and 34, who allegedly arrived in Sydney in April 2023 from Fiji and the US to facilitate the importation of the drugs.
Officials say 375kg of methamphetamine from five consignments seized by the AFP and its partners in Sydney and Los Angeles between April 2022 and February 2023, were sent from Los Angeles by the syndicate.
Police allegedly found the methamphetamine hidden inside 13 plastic pallets in Los Angeles in February.
The men were arrested at a unit in Marsden Park – where the drugs were allegedly found – and another in Newtown.
The men appeared in Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court on May 2 and have been remanded in custody to next appear on July 27.
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All were charged with one count each of attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.
They face 25 years in jail.
AFP Detective Superintendent Kristie Cressy said shared intelligence with international law enforcement partners was crucial to the drugs bust.
“The relationship the AFP shares with its international law enforcement partners was crucial to obtaining and analysing the intelligence that directly resulted in the seizure of 375kg of illicit drugs around the world,” Cressy said.
“The arrest of three people here in Australia and their connection to a wider Mexican-based cartel gives us valuable insight into the operations of organised crime groups and will help us and our partners create a hostile environment for them to operate in.”
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