Meth Worth Millions Found In Sauce Bottles, Four Men Arrested

Four men were arrested in Sydney, Australia, after 400 kilograms (880 pounds) of illegal methylamphetamine was found in bottles of sriracha chili sauce in an air cargo consignment sent from the United States.

The New South Wales (NSW ) Police raided a home in Sydney on Wednesday and arrested a 45-year-old man. Three other men, all in their 30s, were arrested last week. The four men were charged with attempt to possess a commercial quantity illicit import of border-controlled drugs.

Preliminary testing confirmed the bottles contained meth, worth more than $207 million. Police said there were 768 bottles of sriracha sauce and all of which contained the drug.

The Australian Border Force first seized the bottles on Oct. 15, after the consignment arrived at a Sydney cargo yard.

The State Crime Command’s Organised Crime Squad launched an operation, named Strike Force Diffey, in September 2019 to investigate supply of illicit drugs in the city. Officials say the country has an "insatiable demand" for illegitimate drugs. This has led the smugglers to find new ways to import drugs.

An analysis of waste-water data earlier this year found Australians spent about $6.43 billion on illicit drugs in a year, including on an estimated 9.6 tons of meth, the most consumed drugs in the nation.

In August, authorities in Sydney seized a delivery of 755kg (1,664 lb) of meth worth about $391 million hidden inside raw cowhides from Mexico. In June, Melbourne authorities seized 1.6 tons of meth in the biggest ever seizure of the drug. The consignment was discovered inside stereo speakers in a sea cargo consignment from Bangkok. In April, authorities seized more than half a tonne of meth, worth about $303 million, hidden in commercial refrigerators from Singapore.