NSW:174 kilos of drug chemical seized

AAP General News (Australia)
08-18-2010
NSW:174 kilos of drug chemical seized

SYDNEY, Aug 18 AAP - The seizure of $74 million worth of pseudoephedrine, the key
ingredient in the manufacture of ice, will have "a significant impact" on the drug trade
on Sydney's streets, police believe.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) arrested a 25-year-old Chipping Norton man and
a 44-year-old Bonnyrigg man on Tuesday night in connection with the haul, which police
say could have manufactured 130 kilograms of methamphetamine, or ice.

Following intelligence from the Australian Crime Commission, Customs officials screening
cargo containers at Botany Bay identified approximately 174kg of pseudoephedrine hidden
in coffee sachets from Vietnam.

The two men, described by the AFP as "significant targets" in a highly organised international
criminal syndicate, were arrested as they left a residence at Heckenberg in Sydney's south-west
on Tuesday.

A search of the property and other locations subsequently uncovered the chemicals in
what the AFP is calling one of the largest hauls of pseudoephedrine in Australian history.

Police believe further arrests will follow as the investigation continues.

The deputy manager of the AFP's Sydney office, Mick Kelsey, said the manufacture of
ice in clandestine laboratories had been on the rise in Australia in the past few years
and posed an increasing threat to communities.

"Makeshift laboratories, such as where this pseudoephedrine was headed, pose a real
threat to the community and to the people living in the community, not to mention the
people that are actually attempting to manufacture the narcotics," Superintendent Kelsey
said.

The two men are due to appear before Sydney Central Local Court on Wednesday charged
with importing and attempting to possess drugs.

AAP nep/wjf/mp

KEYWORD: PSEUDOEPHEDRINE

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