A Western Australian man has been sentenced to more than six years in jail after attempting to get his hands on $203,000 worth of heroin concealed inside tubes of mascara.
The Australia Federal Police were initially alerted to the drug haul by the Australian Border Force (ABF), who found the white powder concealed in an air cargo consignment sent from South Africa.
On August 3, 2021, ABF officers examined the boxes and mascara tubes and found a powdery substance hidden under the lid of several of the tubes and in envelopes hidden inside the boxes.
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There was a total of 329 grams of powder, with AFP forensic testing establishing it contained 116.8 grams of pure heroin.
Federal police officers removed the drugs and delivered the parcel on August 6, 2021, to a residence in Balga.
They watched as the man arrived on an e-scooter to collect the package and followed him to a nearby vacant property, where he took a photo of the goods.
The man dropped the package and ran when he saw a person he thought was a police officer, but he was arrested a short time later by AFP officers.
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The 31-year-old was charged with attempting to possess a marketable quantity of heroin and was found guilty by a jury in June this year.
Last Tuesday, he was sentenced to six years and two months in prison by the Perth District Court, with a non-parole period of three years and seven months.
Heroin is Australia’s biggest illicit drug killer, with 455 people dying from a heroin overdose in 2022.
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