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'$16 million' discovery allegedly found in teen's wardrobe

Josh Dutton
·News Reporter
·2-min read

A Perth teen has been arrested after police made an alleged $16 million find in her wardrobe.

The 17-year-old girl was arrested by Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Border Force officers on Monday as part of an international police investigation, involving Chinese officers, into an organised crime syndicate.

AFP said it intercepted 254 blocks of heroin, vacuum sealed in foil bags and notified the AFP Guangzhou Office in China.

AFP Commander Asia Peter Sykora said the estimated value of the 74.5 kg of heroin seized was $55 million.

Packages of heroin seized by Australian Federal Police are pictured.
Police seized these packages which they said contained heroin and were destined for addresses in Australia. Source: Australian Federal Police

Heroin sent to locations in Perth and Newcastle

The contents of the bags were removed and replaced with an “inert substance” before sending them off to their “intended locations”: three to Newcastle and one to Perth.

AFP said it found one of these packages opened in the bedroom wardrobe of the Perth teen and this package was supposed to contain 22kg of heroin worth more than $16 million.

The teen was refused bail and faced Perth Children's Court on Monday charged with one count of attempting to import a commercial quantity of border-controlled drugs.

The maximum penalty is life behind bars.

In a separate series of raids, police searched properties in the Newcastle suburbs of Jesmond, Belmont, Lambton and The Hill, and allegedly seized a small amount of drugs, cash, drug paraphernalia and a mobile phone, which will be subject to further forensic examination.

A 23-year-old man, a resident of The Hill, was arrested and charged with attempting to possess a commercial quantity of border-controlled drugs. He allegedly collected one package sent to a residence in Lambton in the Hunter region.

He faced Newcastle Local Court last month but was remanded in custody to appear again in June.

Police have not ruled out further arrests as investigations into the shipments continue.

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