Australia: Heroin Smugglers

Up to 380kg of heroin has been seized from a container of rice noodles offloaded from a ship in Australia's second biggest heroin bust.

Three men aged 31, 32 and 33 were arrested on Saturday night after the heroin was found concealed among packaged noodles at Fisherman Islands Wharf in Brisbane, federal Justice and Customs Minister Chris Ellison said today. The seizure was a joint operation of customs and the Australian Federal Police.

Senator Ellison said the drug, which arrived in Brisbane from China on March 15, had a street value of more than $100 million.

"Although final purity and weight is yet to be confirmed, the seizure could represent up to two million hits of heroin that have been prevented from reaching the streets in Australia," Senator Ellison said.

Henry L. Marconi PRAVDA.Ru Sydney