A MAN has been sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment for his role in the importation of 266 kilograms of liquid MDMA in a consignment of wine bottles.
The drugs were concealed in 270 wine bottles shipped via air freight from France to Melbourne in September 2022.
The Victorian Joint Organised Crime Taskforce launched an investigation after Australian Border Force officers detected the MDMA in the consignment.
Police seized the MDMA before allowing the consignment to be delivered to its intended destination – a self-storage facility in Hallam – in October 2022.
A man from Cranbourne was found accessing the storage facility and examining the consignment, prompting police to search properties at Roxburgh Park, Cranbourne and Hallam.
A 26-year-old man from Roxburgh Park, Melbourne, faced court on Friday (15 March) and pled guilty to one count of Aid and Abet the Importation of a Commercial Quantity of Border Controlled Drugs (MDMA).
He received a 14-year sentence with a non-parole period of eight years and nine months.
The Cranbourne man, arrested in 2022, has pled not guilty and is currently awaiting trial.
“The AFP cannot overstate the amount of harm that 266 kilograms of MDMA could have caused to our community if it had not been intercepted by law enforcement,” AFP Detective Acting Superintendent David MacGregor said.
“The AFP will continue to work tirelessly with law enforcement partners to disrupt attempts made by organised crime groups to import large quantities of illicit drugs into Australia and profit at the expense of the community.”
Victoria Police Detective Acting Superintendent Dan Ryan said police’s work does not stop with the result.
“Alongside our law enforcement partners, we will look to chase up every avenue of enquiry possible as a result of this investigation and we will continue to disrupt the importation of illicit drugs into Victoria,” he said.
