Ice hidden in tequila bottles in Mexico worth $1 billion caught before being shipped to NSW
$1 billion in ice found in tequila bottles to be shipped from Mexico to Australia in four-ton drug bust
- Four tons of ice hidden in tequila bottles
- Drug transport was destined for NSW
Four tons of ice worth $1 billion were found hidden in tequila bottles in a Mexican port before the drug bust could reach its final destination in Australia.
The liquid meth was hidden in 11,520 bottles before it was discovered on April 18 by the Mexican Navy, known as SEMAR, in the port of Manzanillo.
Sniffer dogs and a chemical identification system were used to confirm that the bottles, found in nearly 1,000 cardboard boxes, contained the illegal drug.
The drug bust was widely reported in the media at the time, but it has since been revealed that the shipment was intended to arrive in NSW. The Daily Telegraph reported.
The liquid meth was hidden in 11,520 bottles before it was discovered on April 18 by the Mexican Navy, known as SEMAR, in the port of Manzanillo.
Had the drugs reached NSW it would have been one of the largest arrests in Australian history and supplied ice to the country for six months.
The Mexican Navy works closely with the Australian Federal Police (AFP).
“SEMAR is a strong partner of the AFP, and this seizure is a testament to SEMAR’s close cooperation with the AFP, and SEMAR’s determination to fight organized crime syndicates in Mexico,” said AFP Mexico Detective Patrick Gordon.
SEMAR is also responsible for preventing a further six tonnes of ice from hitting Australian shores in the past year.
Three men, including an Australian, have now been arrested after an investigation into an alleged Mexican cartel.
Americans Alberto Cerda Ramirez, 34, and Eduardo Tapia, 42, and Sydney man Johnathan Topar Perez, 40, have each been charged with attempted possession of a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.
Police allege that 375 kg of methamphetamine was shipped from Los Angeles to Australia, Hong Kong and New Zealand between April 2022 and February this year.
The drugs were meant to arrive in NSW before they were seized
Sniffer dogs and a chemical identification system were used to confirm that the bottles, found in nearly 1,000 cardboard boxes, contained the illicit drug
Perez, who runs a fruit and grocery shop in Hornsby, on Sydney’s north coast, was reportedly the liaison for the trek in Australia.
Another 447 kg of liquid methamphetamine and 120 kg of cocaine hidden in electrical transformer shipments and allegedly organized by the syndicate were seized in Hong Kong in February and March 2022.
In February 2019, a further 106 kg was seized in New Zealand, with all three shipments believed to be destined for Australia.
An 85 kg shipment of methamphetamine was found in plastic pallets in February this year by US Customs and Border Protection in LA, eventually leading to the arrest of the trio.
It is alleged that the two Americans traveled to Sydney from Fiji to receive the shipment.
The three men appeared before Downing Center Local Court on May 2 and have been remanded in custody to appear on July 27.
Three men have been arrested in Sydney for their alleged role in a drug syndicate