A joint operation by the Australian Border Force (ABF) and Australian Federal Police (AFP) has disrupted an alleged drug-smuggling scheme involving two shipping containers that arrived at Port Botany, Sydney, from Ghana.
The investigation began in April 2026 when border officers identified anomalies during the inspection of a cargo declared as charcoal. X-ray screening of the containers revealed suspicious white crystalline material concealed within the shipment.
Subsequent forensic testing confirmed the substance was methamphetamine, with authorities seizing approximately 320 kilograms of the drug. Investigators estimated the shipment’s street value at AUD 296 million (approximately US$208 million), equivalent to around 3.2 million individual street-level transactions.
Rather than immediately terminating the operation, authorities removed the drugs and conducted a controlled delivery to identify those involved in collecting the cargo.
The containers were transported to a storage facility in Girraween, western Sydney, on April 20. Investigators allege that a British national later attended the facility and supervised the unloading of the shipment before several bags were transferred to a residence in Blacktown.
AFP officers subsequently searched the property and arrested the woman. During the raid, investigators recovered 32 bags believed to have previously contained the methamphetamine, along with electronic devices and handwritten notes that are now undergoing forensic examination.
The woman has been charged with attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug, an offence carrying a maximum penalty of life imprisonment under Australian law. She was refused bail and is scheduled to appear before Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court.
The investigation later expanded to South Australia, where police arrested a 30-year-old woman and a 32-year-old man at a property in Oakden near Adelaide.
Authorities allege the pair used false identities to rent storage facilities intended to support the importation operation. Both have been charged with offences related to the use of identification information and failing to comply with court orders. They remain in custody pending further court proceedings.
