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A 50-year-old New Zealand man has been arrested for attempting to possess cocaine in the wake of a joint drugs operation by Australian and German police.
The man and a 27-year-old Columbian woman were arrested last night at Surfers Paradise, Queensland by the Australian Federal Police (AFP).
Both are expected to face charges in Southport Magistrates Court of attempting to possess a marketable quantity of cocaine.
The charges follow German authorities intercepting two separate consignments of hydraulic cylinders sent by airmail to an address in Surfers Paradise in early August.
Each consignment contained about 1.2kg of cocaine. German authorities seized the cocaine and forwarded the consignment to the AFP, whose agents monitored the delivery to a Surfers' Paradise address yesterday.
The maximum penalty for people convicted of this offence is 25 years imprisonment and/or a A$550,000 ($679,000) fine.
The operation is the first involving information exchanged through the Europol Liaison Bureau in the Hague, following the appointment of an Australian Federal Police (AFP) member there in May, the Lawfuel website reported today.
AFP national manager border and international Tim Morris said the operation highlighted the importance of working with international law enforcement.
- NZPA
