Australia seizes record 1.2-tons of meth worth Rs. 5,000cr
What's the story
Australia has seized 1.2-tons of the drug methamphetamine having a street value of nearly Rs. 5,000 crores (A$1 billion).
Eight people have been arrested over what is Australia's largest ever drug bust.
The drugs were seized during a police raid on a dock in Western Australia.
Chrystal methamphetamine, popularly called ice, has been identified as Australia's most damaging narcotic.
Details
Drug haul trumps previous seizure record of 903kg
Police arrested six men at a dock situated close to Geraldton city. Two others were arrested in Perth.
All suspects are Australians aged between 33 to 52 and face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
The latest drug bust trumps the previous record seizure of 903kg of meth in Melbourne in April this year, worth around Rs. 4,500 crores (AUD 898 million).
Police operation
How the drugs were seized?
Australian law enforcement agencies believe the meth was manufactured in China.
A "mother ship" carried the drugs to a position off the coast of Western Australia.
60 bags weighing 20kgs each were transferred into a marine vessel named Valkoista which were offloaded at Geraldton port into a van.
Police then seized the van. Police are currently monitoring the "mother ship."
Significance
12 million hits of meth now off Australia's streets
"We are very pleased that 12 million hits of methamphetamine will be off the streets over the Christmas [and] new year period," said Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton.
The 1.2-ton drug haul would've been enough to feed all of Australia's meth users for two months, based on the latest National Wastewater Drug Monitoring estimates.