"A Total Act Of Bastardry"

"Typically, we would only see fentanyl being detected in quantities of one gram or less. To have a detection that is 11 kilograms pure is just quite frankly extraordinary."

"The audacity of the group behind this is just ... outrageous, I'd describe it as a total act of bastardry."

"Th base of the lathe had poor quality welding and touch-up paint applied to it, which frankly just looked out of place."

"[Fentanyl] is one of the more dangerous drugs our officers can come into contact with." 

"We were absolutely shocked by the size of the detection and the audacity of this attempted importation."

"[Generically border force officers] work with its partners both here in Australia and internationally to ensure illicit drugs don't reach our communities."

James Watson, Australian Border Force commander

"Our concern is that if such a large amount of fentanyl was in the hands of Australian-based criminal networks driven by greed, it could have passed uncontrolled and hidden into the community with possibly deadly results."

"Someone out there in the community knows something. We are at a crucial stage in the investigation and would appreciate some more information."

"The interception of this amount of drugs would be a significant blow even to a well-resourced criminal syndicate and prevents millions of dollars of drug profit flowing back into the syndicate to fund their lavish lifestyles or next criminal venture."

Anthony Hall, Australian Federal Police acting commander

Investigators were forced to wear bio-hazard suits as they inspected the shipment.(Supplied: AFP

 

Canada, like the United States, is experiencing a public-health crisis fuelled largely by fentanyl use -- along with fentanyl mixed into street drugs, unknown to users but the cause of many overdoses. Between January of 2016 and December 2021, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada, a total of 29,052 deaths attributable to fentanyl took place.

Australian authorities seized the largest ever fentanyl cache being smuggled from Canada into Australia recently. A public warning was issued several days ago relating to the dangers of the opioid known for its explosive potency. Designed to medically treat pain, its use as a street drug often leads to lethal overdoses. Never before has the illicit drug been known to be available for drug users in the bulk and purity the recently seized drugs represented. 

Although Australia has some familiarity with fentanyl drug seizures, none have been in large quantities, about 30 grams being the average. Fentanyl street sales are more generally derived from stolen drugs or medical patches diverted from medical use. The latest discovery came about with suspicions over a shipping container sent by the Australian Border Force for further scrutiny.

Suspicions increased when a forklift raised the lathe out of its shipping container and what followed was a two-week operation to remove and analyze the suspected contents. Officers drilled into the base revealing a light brown substance on the end of the bit, field-testing positive for fentanyl.  Further work was done by officers in full biohazard protection, a decontamination zone, ambulances and naloxone within easy reach. Altogether, 60 kilograms of powdered substance was revealed.

The powder was wrapped in plastic sealed with zip ties, stuffed into metal ammunition cases stacked inside the undercarriage of the lathe. Enough of the substance to produce 4.5 million doses. Along with the fentanyl was found 30 kilograms of methamphetamine, with an estimated street value of $27 million.

A shipment of fentanyl and methamphetamine was hidden inside a wooden lathe, which is a machine for shaping wood or metal.(Supplied: AFP)