2LT Local News

MELBOURNE, Victoria, Australia – A Nigerian national appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday, charged with the alleged importation of nearly 9 kilograms of heroin hidden in paint brushes.

The investigation began in this year when Australian Border Force (ABF) officers at the Melbourne Cargo Examination Facility (CEF) discovered irregularities in a shipment of paint roller brushes from Vietnam. Further inspection revealed 8.8 kilograms of heroin concealed within the brushes.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) seized the boxes, removed the heroin, and reconstructed the brushes and boxes before returning them to the CEF. The shipment was then delivered to a property in St Albans, where AFP officers allegedly observed a Nigerian man accepting the package.

The 26-year-old man was arrested after AFP officers executed a warrant at the house and found him nearby after he reportedly attempted to flee through a school oval.

He has been charged with importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled substance (heroin) and attempting to possess a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border-controlled drug (heroin). Both charges carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

AFP Detective Acting Superintendent Rick Briggs highlighted the collaboration between the AFP and ABF in ensuring community safety. “The negative impact that illicit drugs have on the Australian community cannot be overstated, and this amount of heroin would have had severe consequences had it reached our streets,” Briggs said Friday. “Our message remains clear to those who seek to inflict harm on Australians, we will find you and you will be brought before the court where you could face life imprisonment.”

ABF Superintendent Dan Peters praised the skills of Border Force officers in identifying suspicious consignments. “Our officers at the CEF expertly examine anything which appears out of the ordinary, and our sophisticated detection processes and technologies can then pinpoint any abnormalities which could be a possible concealment,” Peters said Friday. “Rest assured, ABF officers work day-in, day-out to protect our nation’s border, stopping dangerous substances such as heroin from entering Australia.”

(File photo).