Adelaide District Court has sentenced two Malaysian nationals to more than six years imprisonment each yesterday after the Australian Border Force (ABF) discovered their plots to import heroin.
An investigation started in June 2021 when ABF officers at the Melbourne Gateway facility inspected a package declared as ‘Tian Qi Supplement’.
The consignment, containing four bottles of capsules labelled as Ginseng and Tian Qi, tested positive for heroin.
In July and September, officers intercepted similar consignments in the international mail system, with the three packages containing a combined 2.8kg of the illicit drug.
In October 2021, ABF officers in South Australia executed search and seizure warrants at a home in central Adelaide.
During the conduct of the warrant, officers seized more medicine bottles containing a further 880g heroin, as well as cash and mobile phones.
ABF Acting Superintendent Tom Williams said the Australian border is a critical national asset that protects the community from a range of threats.
“The ABF is at the front line when it comes to protecting the Australian community from dangerous substances, goods and people,” Acting Superintendent Williams said.
“Criminals can, and do, try all types of creative ways to get their dangerous goods through the border, but as we see with this result, there is no concealment method too creative for our officers.
“We’ve just about seen it all, and we will continue to make sure those doing the wrong thing are brought to justice.”
The men were charged with importation of Border Controlled Drug, namely Heroin, contrary to section 307.2 of the Criminal Code Act 1915 and possessing border controlled drugs contrary to subsection 307.9 of the Criminal Code Act 1995.
Both men pled guilty to these charges and were sentenced yesterday at the Adelaide district court.
One man was sentenced to nine years, reduced to seven years and seven months after pleading guilty, backdated to his arrest, with a non-parole period of four years and six months minimum term before becoming eligible for parole.
The other was sentenced to eight years imprisonment, reduced to six years and four months after his guilty plea, backdated to his arrest, with a non-parole period of three years and six months.
