A teenage boy and three men have been charged over a drug bust involving 230 kilograms of methamphetamine hidden in an industrial-sized pulley imported from China.
The pulley arrived in Sydney on April 29 and was delivered to a workshop at Wetherill Park, in the city's west, on May 5.
The Australian Federal Police said the four people were arrested the next day while using power tools to try to retrieve a substance that had been substituted for the meth and concealed in the machinery.
Mounire Mokdassi, 35, from Glenmore Park, Jake Cucek, 23, from Woy Woy, Jack Martin, 21, of Saint Hubert’s Island and a 17-year-old boy from Penrith were all charged with attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.
The offence carries a maximum penalty of life in jail.
Police allege the group is part of a criminal syndicate and was integral in attempting to access the drugs.
The three men were refused bail after appearing at Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday, with another hearing due to consider a release application by Mokdassi on July 19.
The teen was granted conditional bail and will reappear in court on July 6.
AFP Commander John Tanti said police were dedicated to targeting illicit drug importations.
“Had these drugs reached our communities, countless lives would have been impacted - inflicting a high social cost through crime, including the loss of life, increased healthcare and justice costs and loss of productivity,” he said.
“Transnational organised crime does not respect borders, but the AFP has repeatedly demonstrated it can thrive in a borderless environment to protect the Australian community.”
