Weirdest drug smuggling plots revealed

Perth: So, get this! Police in Australia have just revealed some of the wildest ways criminals have tried to smuggle drugs into the country. I mean, who would think of hiding drugs in Christmas gifts? Crazy, right?

This year alone, the Australian Federal Police and Border Force stopped over 740 drug shipments before they hit the streets. They found all sorts of dangerous stuff tucked away in everyday items like paint brushes, bath products, and even herbal tea. Can you believe it?

They seized more than 45 tonnes of drugs, including meth, cocaine, and heroin. One shocking case involved a couple from WA who tried to smuggle in over $100,000 worth of heroin hidden inside their own bodies. Yikes!

When they got stopped after a holiday, scans showed they had 13 pellets of heroin inside them. The guy got over seven years in jail, while the woman got four. That’s a hefty price to pay for a bad decision!

Earlier this year, authorities intercepted a massive 900kg shipment of meth that came from the U.S. It was hidden in industrial machinery and worth a whopping $828 million. Just imagine the scale of that operation!

In Melbourne, a Nigerian national got caught with 9kg of heroin hidden in paint brushes from Vietnam. And in Sydney, officers found 20kg of meth in a Taiwanese national’s luggage, cleverly concealed in wine bottles and bath salts. Talk about sneaky!

There was even an Italian guy who tried to traffic ketamine hidden in stuffed toys as Christmas gifts. The AFP found 1.5kg of it on Christmas Day last year. What a way to ruin the holiday spirit!

According to AFP Commander Paula Hudson, Australia is a prime target for these criminal syndicates because of the high prices drugs can fetch here. But she reassured everyone that they’re always on the lookout, ready to catch these criminals in the act.

So, next time you think about smuggling something, just remember: the authorities are watching, and they’re one step ahead!