A 31-year-old Zimbabwean man named Michael Charumbira has been arrested in Australia and charged with attempting to import a massive amount of methamphetamine, worth a staggering US$538 000.
According to Sky News Australia, Charumbira was arrested by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) at a property in south-west Sydney following a tip-off from the United States Homeland Security Investigations.
The tip-off linked large drug shipments to a Sydney-based store and this led the AFP to investigate. The methamphetamine, which is popularly known as mutoriro or dombo in Zimbabwe, was cleverly concealed inside packages within two computer numerical control (CNC) machines.
For the offence, Charumbira appeared before the Downing Centre Local Court on August 1 after his arrest on 31 July. He is lucky that Australia is not part of Asian countries, because that offence would certainly result in a death sentence being handed down to him.
The drugs were likely planned to be distributed across the eastern seaboard of Australia. Currently it is unclear where the methamphetamine came from but authorities suspect that it was manufactured in either Mexico or the United States.
Detective Superintendent Peter Fogarty of the Australian Federal Police told Sky News Australia that “Methamphetamine is the second-most consumed illicit drug in Australia and its impact can be felt across the community, from our homes to our hospitals.”
“Criminal syndicates go to great lengths to conceal their activities, but that will never deter the AFP and its domestic and international partners. We will find those responsible and bring them before the courts,” he added.
