British actress Emaa Hussen was charged in Sydney after allegedly trying to smuggle roughly $208 million worth of methamphetamine into Australia through concealed “charcoal” shipments coming from Ghana, outlets reported.
The BBC reports that Hussen was arrested in a drug bust after allegedly trying to smuggle a massive amount of 320 kilograms of meth from West Africa into Australia. She appeared before a Sydney court on Thursday after being charged with attempting to import a commercial quantity of methamphetamine into Australian territory — which carries a maximum life in prison sentence.
Hussen, 34, is known for her roles in the 2013 film Redemption and in a spinoff of British soap opera EastEnders that first aired in 2010. The actress was refused bail last month and is due back in court in August.
The Australian Federal Police informed that it launched an investigation in April after Australian Border Force (ABF) officers in Sydney detected anomalies in shipping containers coming from Ghana. The illicit substance was found concealed in purported bags of coal. Further testing determined the substance to be methamphetamine.
Hussen allegedly attended the storage facility and supervised over several men as they unpacked the container, with a number of bags transported to a house in Blacktown. AFP investigators later executed a search warrant and arrested the British actress.
“Police located 32 bags at the house, which were allegedly those that had previously contained methamphetamine,” AFP said on Thursday. “Electronic devices and a notebook were also seized and will be subject to further forensic examination.”
In addition to Hussen, a couple from Adelaide, identified as a 30 year-old woman and a 32 year-old man, were also arrested by AFP investigators for attempting to rent storage units in Sydney to house the shipped drugs under false identities.
AFP noted that investigations to determine the exact role that the couple had in the drug smuggling operation are still ongoing as of June 18. The couple were remanded in custody to reappear in Adelaide Magistrates Court on September 2.
“This operation highlights the agility of the AFP and our partners to investigate complex matters across jurisdictions and stop organized crime syndicates in their tracks,” AFP Detective Acting Superintendent Trevor Robinson said.
“The seizure of these drugs – with an estimated street value of $296 million [Australian dollars] – has prevented a potential 3.2 million deals from reaching Australian streets and demonstrates the AFP’s ability to operate seamlessly across borders.”
Similarly, ABF Superintendent Jared Leighton noted that criminal syndicates added, “Criminal syndicates will go to great lengths to disguise illicit drugs, including embedding them in everyday goods like charcoal, but our highly skilled officers are trained to see beyond these attempts.”