A man from Ghana has been sentenced to more than five years in jail for his role in importing 784kg of cocaine into Western Australia, hidden in clothes like ponchos and bikinis.
The Australian Border Force, working with the Australian Federal Police, examined a package of ponchos and bikinis sent from South America to Western Australia through air cargo in February 2022.
Officers were aware of a type of drug concealment that used fibres of clothing to smuggle in illegal substances.
A white substance was found embedded in the fibres of the cloths, which was tested and confirmed to be cocaine.
Following the discovery, the AFP substituted the clothing and let the package continue to its final destination.
A then 24-year-old man from Ghana accepted the delivery and said it was for a friend, triggering a search warrant of the property later that day.
The Ghana man told police that he did not know who the package was for, and claimed it had been left in the hallway of a sharehouse.
Text messages on the man’s phone relating to the delivery of the package led to his arrest and charges.
“Criminals will use a variety of methods to try to smuggle cocaine and other illicit drugs into Australia because Australians are willing to pay high prices and the criminals do not care about the harm they cause,” AFP Detective acting Superintendent John Whitehead said
The now 26-year-old was sentenced to five years and six months imprisonment, with a non-parole period of three years and three months.
The man’s sentence was backdated to March 2022 as he has been in custody since his arrest.
“Criminals continue to target Australia due to its high demand, creating a marketable profit, but regardless of the creative ways they think they can conceal these illicit drugs, we have seen them all and we will take decisive action when they are found,” ABF Superintendent James Payne said.
“This sentencing outcome is testament to the close cooperation with our law enforcement partners working together to disrupt anyone attempting to profit from the harmful illicit drug market.”
