SYDNEY, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- Australian authorities have charged a New Zealand national after 21 kg of heroin was located hidden in luggage at Sydney Airport on Sunday.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Australian Border Force (ABF) said in a joint statement on Monday that the 21-year-old man from New Zealand was selected for a baggage examination on arrival at Sydney Airport on a flight from Thailand on Sunday.
During the examination, ABF officers allegedly located 21 vacuum-sealed bags containing a white powdered substance. Subsequent testing returned a positive result for heroin, with an estimated total weight of 21 kg.
AFP officers seized the packages and charged the man with one count of importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.
If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
According to authorities, the seized volume of heroin had an estimated value of over 10 million Australian dollars (6.6 million U.S. dollars) and could have supplied around 100,000 street-level deals. ■