Two alleged West African drug mules have been caught at Perth Airport attempting to smuggle about $9 million worth of meth-amphetamine into the State.
The female students, who are dual Australian and Sierra Leone nationals, were arrested on Sunday after they arrived on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha with the drugs allegedly concealed in the lining of their suitcases.
It is alleged Mofata Fofana, 20, was carrying 5.1kg of meth which police claim had been elaborately packaged to form a false bottom that was glued into her bag. Rosaline Koroma, 28, was allegedly caught with 4kg of the drug which had been concealed in a similar manner.
Australian Border Force officers detected the drugs after noticing anomalies in the pair’s luggage during X-ray screenings.
Australian Federal Police officers took control of the investigation and charged the women with importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug. The charge, under the Commonwealth Criminal Code, carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
The women faced Perth Magistrate’s Court yesterday and were not required to plead before being remanded in custody.
Australian Federal Police officers took control of the operation.
Australian Federal Police officers took control of the operation.
No further details about the alleged importation were revealed but lawyers for Ms Fofana said she would try to apply for bail at a hearing today.
West African countries have been identified as an emerging source of WA’s meth supply as criminal gangs seek to cash in on the potential huge profits.
At a Federal parliamentary committee hearing in Perth last week, WA Police Cdr Pryce Scanlan said the gangs could buy a kilogram of meth for as little as $7000 in their home countries.
He said that amount could sell for up to $1 million on the streets of Perth. “Organised crime see us as a vulnerable space,” Cdr Scanlan said.
“Predominantly those groups are from China or Taiwan but recently we are seeing other groups in West Africa and South America also looking to target us.”
AFP Acting Cdr Paul Hopkins said the arrest of the two women at Perth Airport showed law enforcement and border protection partners were successful in detecting and disrupting criminal activity through airports.
