SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian police have seized about two kilograms of crystal meth or ‘ice’, that drug smugglers had hidden in boxes of face masks and hand sanitiser bottles sent from Canada.
An inspection of two boxes that had arrived at a Sydney gateway facility from Canada in early May, found a crystal-like substance that tested positive to methamphetamine (ice), Australian Border Force (ABF) said in a statement.
“We know criminals will go to any length to smuggle drugs into the country, so it’s no surprise they’re trying to use in-demand items such as masks and hand sanitiser to hide them in,” ABF Superintendent for International Mail & Cargo Clearance John Fleming said.
“Criminals should know our efforts to secure our border have not stopped because of COVID-19.”
Photos released by the police showed several bottles of instant hand sanitisers and hand sanitiser gels filled with the crystal-like drug.
Ice, or crystal methamphetamine, is one of the most potent varieties of amphetamine drug. The name ‘ice’ became popular due to its little white ‘crystals’ and glass-like appearance.
(Reporting by Renju Jose; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
