SYDNEY: Two Singapore nationals and a local man were charged in Australia Friday with trafficking some 4.5 kilogrammes of heroin, an offence that carries a maximum jail term of life imprisonment.
Australian Federal Police searched a vehicle in the beachside Sydney suburb of Coogee early on Friday and found about 1.5 kilogrammes of a substance believed to be heroin.
They swooped on a nearby serviced apartment and found another 3.0 kilogrammes of the drug and A$10,000 in cash.
The finds led to the arrest of a 54-year-old Queensland man, and two Singaporeans.
"All
three men have been charged with trafficking commercial quantities of a
border controlled drug, namely heroin," police said in a statement.
The maximum penalty for the offence is life imprisonment and/or an A$825,000 (US$855,000) fine, police said.
- AFP/ck