Three Australians arrested over $270 million worth of methamphetamine imported in juice bottles

Australian authorities have arrested three men in connection with a plot to import $270 million worth of liquid methamphetamine, the latest in a series of large-scale smuggling operations into the world’s most active and lucrative methamphetamine market.

The investigation began when the Canadian Border Services Agency intercepted a container shipment arriving in Vancouver from Brazil. Upon inspection, the CBSA discovered more than a thousand bottles of “fruit juice” filled with 89 percent pure liquid methamphetamine (crystal methamphetamine dissolved in water). The shipment was ultimately destined for Australia, and Canadian authorities alerted their Australian counterparts to the incoming illegal cargo. Before the container left Vancouver, the CBSA and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police removed all of the methamphetamine and replaced it with a harmless liquid, preserving the appearance of the shipment.

The container arrived in Brisbane by ship on September 3 and was taken by truck to a site near Jimboomba, a suburb about 30 miles south of Brisbane. After delivery, three local men were arrested and charged in connection with the shipment. If convicted of human trafficking, the suspects could face life in prison. According to the AFP, they were not working alone: ​​Australian investigators believe the shipment was arranged by an organized crime syndicate.

“Transnational crime knows no borders as we live in an increasingly global and interconnected world,” said RCMP Chief Superintendent Stephen Lee. “This is another example of working closely with our international partners and maintaining strong relationships with law enforcement agencies around the world.”

Canada may seem like an unlikely location to stage a large-scale drug smuggling operation, since it is not a major producer of any major class of harmful narcotics. However, the container terminal outside Vancouver, B.C. has become a major transshipment point for organized criminal gangs, according to the neighboring city of Delta, B.C. Canada disbanded its single-purpose port police department in 1997, and the container terminal is now patrolled by 14 different agencies with varying priorities and budgets.

“According to police intelligence, transnational organized crime groups are active in our ports. They use ports to export illicit goods and take advantage of the low level of screening of outgoing containers, which is even lower than the screening of incoming containers,” Delta city security advisers wrote last year. “(Vancouver) is open to transnational organized crime as it is a staging area for Asian, South American, Mexican and domestic syndicates and cartels.”

Criminal gangs have also used the Los Angeles port complex to ship meth from Mexico to Australia. In 2023, seven illegal shipments were found in an L.A. warehouse, concealed in various cargoes such as industrial machinery, furniture and carpeting. The shipments – totaling about a ton of meth – were seized by U.S. Customs before they could leave the country, and L.A. police arrested a local man in connection with the raids.