Meth, cocaine and heroin: AFP seize over $10 billion's worth of drugs in 2023

The Australian Federal Police and Australian Border Force have announced that over the last year, they seized more than 26.8 tonnes of illicit drugs and their precursor materials.

In dozens of high profile drug busts, the AFP claims they prevented over $10.7 billion dollars worth of narcotics from entering Australia.

AFP Commander Paula Hudson said that Australia "unfortunately remains a lucrative market for transnational serious organised crime, with syndicates attempting to import harmful illicit drugs into our country by any means possible".

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Among the drug busts made in the financial year between 2022 and 2023, were some of the largest heroin and cocaine busts in the country's history.

One bust in June this year stopped a scheme to import 850kg of cocaine into Australia in May hidden on a cargo ship.

Seven people were eventually charged over the scheme.

This year also saw the second largest heroin shipment ever detected in Australia after the AFP intercepted 336kg of heroin shipped from Malaysia.

The drugs were found in Brisbane, stashed in shipping containers pictured above.

In May, three men were charged in Sydney as part of an international investigation into a Mexican organised crime syndicate suspected of importing hundreds of kilograms of methamphetamine into Australia, Hong Kong and New Zealand.

Police alleged that 375kg of methamphetamine were seized from the Mexican syndicate by the AFP and its partners in Sydney and Los Angeles.

And in June, an AFP partnership with Canadian police intercepted the alleged attempted importation of 2,900 litres of liquid methamphetamine from Canada.

Canadian authorities also allegedly seized a total of 6125 litres of liquid methamphetamine.

Australian Border Force (ABF) Commander James Copeman said that cocaine shipments were being intercepted at unprecedented levels this year amid a global surge in trafficking.

"The ABF are seizing more than twice the amount of cocaine we did last year," he said.

He also said that methodologies used by drug smugglers were constantly changing.

This year they included "hull attachments on ships, drops at sea or use of trusted insiders and couriers on cruise ships".