NSW: Heroin hidden in lollies: AFP
12 Dec 2008 3:35 PM
SYDNEY, Dec 12 AAP - A Sydney man has been charged after a kilogram of heroin was found hidden inside packets of lollies posted to Australia from Vietnam.
The 24-year-old Chester Hill man was charged with importing a marketable quantity of a border controlled drug, Australian Federal Police and Customs said in a joint statement on Friday.
The investigation began on September 3 when Customs officers at the Sydney International Mail Centre intercepted a parcel sent from Vietnam to an address in Bass Hill, in Sydney's south-west.
About 1,080 grams of heroin was found inside 216 individual lollies.
The powder is undergoing forensic testing to determine its exact weight and purity.
Customs spokesman Catherine Asbridge said the alleged drug concealment was elaborate and showed the lengths some traffickers would go to to smuggle drugs into Australia.
"As Customs and other law enforcement agencies persist in detecting the many and varied methods of smuggling drugs, traffickers are trying new and creative concealment methods, she said.
The 24-year-old is due to face Sydney Central Local Court on Friday.
