• 1.8 tons of liquid methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $1 billion was discovered.
• It was concealed in cartons of coconut water and was headed for Australia.
• Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Australian Border Force in Hong Kong were able to seize the stockpile.

Australian police in Hong Kong have confiscated 1.8 tons of liquid methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $1 billion (£880 million).

The class A narcotic was discovered concealed in cartons of coconut water and was headed for Australia.

Together with Hong Kong Customs and Excise (HKCE), the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Australian Border Force (ABF) in Hong Kong were able to seize what they described as a “record-breaking” stockpile.

The Australian Department of Home Affairs and AFP officers in Mexico jointly generated intelligence that allowed the illicit consignment to be found, according to the AFP.

On October 23, they said that HKCE discovered the meth thanks to “international cooperation.”

The substance, known as “ice” on the streets because of the white crystals’ appearance on glass, was intended for New South Wales, the most populous state in Australia.

The AFP estimated the medications’ wholesale value as $347 million (£299 million).

The AFP released a statement in which it stated: “Mexican-based officers used their global network to notify AFP investigators in Hong Kong about the suspected cargo being transferred from Mexico to Australia via Hong Kong.

To find the severe international organized criminals implicated in the conspiracy, ongoing investigations are being conducted, according to the statement.

The top AFP officer in Mexico, Detective Superintendent Patrick Gordon, stated: “The grim reality is that Australia’s problem with illicit drug usage is funding a variety of dangerous and violent cartels, triads, and outlaw motorcycle gangs.

“These crooks threaten both our economy and national security. Our towns and roads become less secure as a result.

The NSW and Australian communities are safer as a result of these drugs being captured since this quantity of meth could have been sold in around 18 million street level dealings.

According to the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, methamphetamine is one of the strongest types of amphetamine, with Australia having the greatest rate of addiction to the drug worldwide (ACIC).

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