A British actress is accused of trying to import drugs worth almost $300 million into Australia.
Emaa Hussen was charged alongside an Adelaide couple after being accused of trying to import 320kg of methamphetamine, disguised as sacks of charcoal, from West Africa.
The 34-year-old — who has starred in a spin-off of the long running British soap opera Eastenders and appeared in Hollywood film Redemption alongside Jason Statham — appeared in court on Thursday after being arrested by New South Wales Police during a drug bust in Sydney.
Police launched an investigation in April after border authorities detected anomalies in two shipping containers that had arrived at Sydney’s Port Botany from Ghana.
Authorities found a “white crystalised substance” in the containers, which were listed as bags of charcoal. Further testing confirmed it was meth.
Officers removed the drugs — which had a street value of $296 million — from the shipment before it was delivered to a storage facility in Girraween in Sydney’s western suburbs.
Police allege that Ms Hussen went to the facility and supervised as several men unpacked the container.
They allegedly loaded several bags into a car before driving to a house in Blacktown, where police later arrested Ms Hussen. Police also seized electronic devices and a notebook.
As part of the investigations, police also arrested and charged a woman, 30, and a man, 32, from Adelaide for allegedly using false identities to rent the storage units in Sydney where the drugs were delivered.
“The seizure of these drugs – with an estimated street value of $296 million – has prevented a potential 3.2 million deals from reaching Australian streets,” Det Acting Supt Trevor Robinson from the Australian Federal Police said.
Australian Border Force Supt Jared Leighton praised his officers for their efforts.
“Criminal syndicates will go to great lengths to disguise illicit drugs, including embedding them in everyday goods like charcoal, but our highly skilled officers are trained to see beyond these attempts”.
Ms Hussen will remain behind bars until her next court appearance in August.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.perthnow.com.au ’
