SYDNEY, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- A teenager is facing life imprisonment after he allegedly acted as a drug mule to import methamphetamine into Australia.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Australian Border Force (ABF) said in a joint statement on Wednesday that the 19-year-old man from Canberra was intercepted and chosen for a baggage examination on arrival at Sydney Airport from Vancouver on Sept. 29.
During the examination, ABF officers allegedly located three suspicious packages containing 16 kg of a crystal-like substance that testing identified as methamphetamine.
The man was arrested by the AFP and charged with one count each of possessing a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border-controlled drug and importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug, both of which carry maximum sentences of life imprisonment.
The AFP and ABF said it will be alleged in court that the teenager was contacted on social media by an unknown individual who offered him 3,500 Australian dollars (2,263 U.S. dollars) to illegally smuggle vapes into Australia.
He traveled to Vancouver and collected the suitcase, which he believed contained vapes, before returning to Australia.
Authorities said that the methamphetamine had an estimated street value of 14.8 million Australian dollars (9.5 million U.S. dollars). ■
