Canadians charged after 16 kg of meth found stashed in suitcases, Australian police say
Two Canadians are facing serious drug charges in Australia after border officials allegedly found a significant amount of methamphetamine stashed inside their suitcases.
The pair, a man and a woman in their 20s, flew from Vancouver to Melbourne Airport on Saturday. They were pulled aside for additional screening based on an officer's "intuition," according to a statement Tuesday.
Australian Federal Police said border officers searched the pair's four bags. Four one-kilogram packages of meth were allegedly found inside each suitcase, for a total of 16 kilograms of the drug.
The man, 27, and woman, 26, have now been charged with importation of a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug and two counts of possessing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.
The maximum penalty is life in prison.
The statement did not provide the Canadians' names.
Heavy bags led to X-ray: police
The drugs were discovered after an officer noticed one of the man's bags seemed unusually heavy, even after being emptied for the search. The statement said the officer sent it for an X-ray, which revealed the packages inside the bags.
"Similar discrepancies were found with the suitcases of the female passenger," said Craig Palmer, a regional commander with the the Australian Border Force.
The statement said the drugs tested positive for meth.
The man and woman remain in custody. They are due to appear in Victoria Magistrate's Court in Australia on May 22.
