SYDNEY, April 11 (Xinhua) -- Police in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) reported on Thursday that over 700 kg of Alprazolam has been seized in Western Sydney, making it "the largest single seizure of pharmaceutical drugs in NSW history."
According to a statement by the NSW Police Force, a search warrant was executed at about 8:00 p.m. local time on April 7 in a storage unit in Auburn, a suburb located about 16 km west of Sydney's central business area.
Police seized 722 kg of Alprazolam, an anti-anxiety medication also known as "Xanax", with an estimated street value of 12 million Australian dollars (about 7.8 million U.S. dollars).
During the following investigations, officers searched a truck traveling on Hammond Avenue in Wagga Wagga on Wednesday evening, where some shopping bags packed with almost 1 million Australian dollars (about 651,725 U.S. dollars) in cash were discovered.
The 28-year-old male driver was arrested and charged with supplying a prohibited drug greater than a large commercial quantity and knowingly dealing with proceeds of crime.
He was refused bail and will appear before a local court on Thursday.
Due to its high potency and rapid onset of action, alprazolam is believed to have great potential for misuse, abuse, and dependence.
Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration classified the drug as a Schedule 8 medicine, which means it can only be supplied by a pharmacist on prescription and is subject to strict restrictions. ■
