$145 Million Worth of Crystal Meth Found in Crashed Car of Australian Man

A drug courier in Australia crashed a van packed with methamphetamine into two marked police cars. Officers who busted the van full of drugs called the incident as one of the easiest drug busts ever made. The courier was jailed on September 11.

Millions worth of meth

The courier, Simon Tu, was sentenced to six years and six months in prison on the charge of supplying a massive commercial quantity of a prohibited drug, according to the New South Wales district court. Tu will be eligible for parole in July 2023.

The incident happened last July in Sydney, in the state of New South Wales. Police officers at a station heard a loud crash outside, and when they went out to see what happened, they saw two cars severely damaged, according to CNN.

The car that crashed into the police vehicles was nowhere to be seen, according to a news release from NSW Police. Tu immediately fled the scene.

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After the police checked surveillance cameras and talking to several witnesses, the police were able to identify the car that was responsible for the wreckage. They tracked it down and pulled it over.

That was when the officers found Tu behind the wheel. The police officers who responded to the call noticed that Tu was acting suspiciously when they engaged him in conversation; this prompted them to search his car.

Police found 273 kilograms or 600 pounds of crystal meth packed neatly into cardboard boxes, and they seemed like they were ready to be delivered, according to the police statement.

The drugs are said to have a street value of 200 million Australian dollars or 145 million U.S dollars, according to the police. The officers immediately seized the meth and the van. Tu was arrested and denied bail.

Detective Glyn Baker of the Ryde Police said in a press conference shortly after the incident took place that the 26-year-old suspect has had a very bad day for running in with the police like that.

Tu crashed into police cars with that amount of drugs on board, and that kind of incident is unheard of and is an exceptional set of circumstances.

Detective Baker told Seven News that what happened is one of the easiest drug busts that NSW Police has ever made, adding that he found the whole ordeal incredible.

Drug busts in Australia

Australian authorities have made a lot of massive drug busts recently. In October 2019, authorities found 400 kilograms or 880 pounds of meth, worth more than $208 million, hidden in hundred of bottles of Sriracha-branded hot sauce, according to CTV News.

In December 2019, federal border police seized a record-breaking $820 million worth of crystal meth, which had been hidden inside stereo speakers shipped from Thailand, according ABC 57.

The crystal meth trade has not slowed down even during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. Shipping items from one country to another became more strict, so smuggles got more creative.

In May 2020, the border force found 2 kilograms or 4.4 pounds of meth hidden in face mask boxes and hand sanitizer bottles, which are two of the essential items right now.