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An Adelaide woman could face a life sentence after being charged with attempting to smuggle 62 kilograms of cocaine, valued at approximately $20 million, into Australia.
The illicit drugs were discovered in February when border officials intercepted a shipment containing 62 individually wrapped packages of cocaine powder from Germany.
The cocaine was concealed within mechanical equipment destined for a business in Adelaide.
Authorities conducted a search of a business in Kensington Park, located in Adelaide’s eastern suburbs, later that month, leading to the arrest of an Adelaide man in July.
The investigation culminated in the arrest of a 30-year-old woman from Prospect, who was charged yesterday.
She has been charged with one count of importation of a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug, one count of attempt to possess a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug, and failure to comply with a 3LA order.
The maximum penalty for the first two charges is life imprisonment and for the latter, 10 years imprisonment, a $198,000 fine, or both.
AFP Acting Superintendent Simon Lalic claimed hundreds of thousands of street deals had been stopped as a result of the bust.
“This seizure of these drugs has stopped a potential 310,000 individual street deals from causing significant harm to our communities and economy,” he said.
“[It has] prevented the estimated $20.1 million proceeds from those sales going into the pockets of criminals.”
The woman was released on bail and will appear before Adelaide Magistrates Court on January 9 next year.