Foiled plan to import $400m of meth in juice bottles to Brisbane

Three men are accused of being involved in a foiled plot to import liquid meth concealed in fruit juice bottles. Photo / Getty Images

Three men have been charged, accused of being involved in a foiled plot to import AU$400 million ($436 million) worth of liquid meth concealed in fruit juice bottles.

Canadian authorities notified the Australian Federal Police (AFP) that a consignment of juice bottles allegedly containing 1280 litres of liquid methamphetamine had arrived in Vancouver from Brazil in May.

The methamphetamine, believed to have a purity level of 89 per cent, has an estimated street value of $400 million.

The illicit drugs were removed from the bottles and replaced with an inert substance before Canadian authorities sent it on to Australia.

The shipment arrived in Brisbane on a container ship in September.

AFP officers tracked the container during its delivery to a semi-rural property in Jimboomba, south of Brisbane, where it was stored in a large shed.

Police raided the property and a shopping centre in Browns Plains and arrested three Queensland men - aged 30, 35 and 43 - on September 11.

All three men were charged with attempting to possess a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border-controlled drug which holds a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

The trio faced Brisbane Magistrates Court on September 12 with the 43-year-old Jimboomba man remanded in custody to reappear on Tuesday.

The 35-year-old Jimboomba man and 30-year-old Buccan man were remanded in custody to face court again on September 20.

If the drugs had been converted into crystal methamphetamine, it could have equated to four million individual street deals.

AFP acting commander Adrian Telfer said the amount of methamphetamine would have had devastating consequences.

“The cost to our society from four million hits of crystal methamphetamine cannot be overstated,” he said.

“This amount of liquid methamphetamine would have led to domestic violence, assaults, and contributed to the road toll, as well as lined the pockets of organised crime.”