Australian police seize $210 million worth of crystal meth hidden in sriracha bottles
By Yaron Steinbuch
New York Post
October 31, 2019
These sriracha bottles were packing more than heat.
Four men were arrested after authorities in Australia seized 400 kilos (880 pounds) of crystal meth worth about $210 million concealed in bottles of the hot chili sauce imported from the US, officials said.
Australian border police targeted an air cargo consignment that had arrived at a freight facility in Sydney on Oct. 15. The consignment was declared to contain the sauce, but police noted inconsistencies.
Officers found 768 bottles of sriracha, “with presumptive testing returning a positive indicator for methylamphetamine (ice),” New South Wales state police said in a statement Thursday.
On Oct. 20, a 36-year-old man was arrested outside a home in Plumpton. The following day, detectives arrested two Victoria men, 30 and 34, in a parking lot of a Sydney hotel, officials said.
Police searched a vehicle in the parking lot and seized eight boxes containing bottles of sriracha, box cutters, bags and gardening gloves.
A search warrant also was executed at a hotel suite, where 26 boxes of sriracha and four mobile phones were seized.
The three Aussies were charged with attempt to possess a commercial quantity and the unlawful importing of a border controlled drug.
A fourth man, 45, was arrested Thursday outside a home at Edensor Park and charged with possessing identity information to commit an indictable offense.
“This has been a complex investigation and we know the methylamphetamine in this import was headed for a clandestine lab in the Sydney Metropolitan area for the extraction process to occur,” State Crime Commander Stuart Smith said in a statement.
“We will conduct further investigations with our law enforcement partners to identify other people linked to the group,” he added.
The seizure has prevented about 4 million hits of crystal methamphetamine hitting the streets, said Matt O’Connor, acting regional commander for the Australian Border Force, Reuters reported.
Crystal meth is known as “ice” due to its little white “crystals” and glass-like appearance.
The Plumpton and Victoria men were held without bail pending court hearings in December. The fourth suspect was granted conditional bail and is due in court Nov. 28.
EDITOR’S NOTE: I once bought a bottle of sriracha after having seen it in a couple of Chinese restaurants. After the second use, I threw the shit away. It had a real lousy taste. Tabasco tastes much better. But Cholula Hot Sauce is best of all, and that’s what I use on all kinds of food.
Cholula Hot Sauce is manufactured in Chapala, Jalisco, Mexico, and licensed by José Cuervo.
Try Cholula. It’s in the bottle with the wooden ball top. You’ll like it.
3 comments:
BGB running commercials now? Tabasco is still the King.
Sounds to me like the statement by State Crime Commander Stuart Smith may have burned a snitch.
I also vote for Tabasco. If I remember right they moved to Mexico early on during NAFTA, and then got disgusted with the corruption, ineptitude and general stupidity of the government and the low productivity of the work force and moved back to the U. S.
I just received this message from Trey:
I was in Nacogdoches yesterday and ate at a diner near city hall. I ordered breakfast and asked for Tabasco. You would think they would have Tabasco cause you could almost spit to Louisiana from there. They had Cholula not Tabasco. I tried it and it really was better than Tabasco. Thicker and smokie taste. Good stuff. Never thought I would change.
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