Two French women charged after methamphetamine found in luggage at Australian airport

Sydney, July 13 (IANS) Two French women have been charged over an alleged attempt to smuggle more than 30 kilograms of methamphetamine into Australia in their luggage.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Australian Border Force (ABF) said on Sunday that the pair, aged 19 and 20, were stopped upon arrival at the international airport in Australia's Brisbane on a flight from Southeast Asia on Tuesday afternoon.

During a subsequent search of their luggage, ABF officers found 32 individually-wrapped bricks of a white substance, which was tested and identified as methamphetamine, reports Xinhua news agency.

The case was handed over to AFP officers, who seized 32 kg of methamphetamine and arrested the two French citizens.

According to the AFP, the seized drugs have a street value of more than 29 million Australian dollars (19 million US dollars) and would have equated to 320,000 street-level deals.

Both women were charged with one count of importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled substance. If convicted, they would face a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

The ABF said the French citizens were targeted following intelligence reports and travel patterns similar to a previous group of four women who were arrested over an alleged attempt to smuggle 30 kg of cocaine into Australia in luggage earlier in July.

"It is extremely unlikely these young women were acting alone, and rather that they were part of a broader network, and this result sends a clear message that ABF will continue to detect and disrupt these syndicates," Acting ABF Commander Troy Sokoloff said in a statement.

--IANS

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