A SYDNEY man, 23, from Kellyville, has appeared before Penrith Local Court after a multinational police operation saw 300kg of methamphetamine hidden inside pressure washers seized by Canadian authorities.
An AFP investigation began in early October 2025 after the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) in British Columbia detected the methamphetamine hidden inside 36 cardboard boxes.
The consignment was destined for north-west Sydney.
AFP detective superintendent, Morgen Blunden, said the seized methamphetamine had an estimated street value of $277 million equivalent to roughly three million street level deals.
“The AFP has a close working relationship with law enforcement around the globe and share intelligence daily to ensure we are well positioned to defend Australia from these threats,” Det Supt Blunden said.
“We thank our Canadian partners for foiling this plot before it reached the Australian community."
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Federal Policing Pacific Region removed the drugs from the consignment and returned it to the freight system before alerting the AFP.
Regional director general of the CBSA Pacific Region, Nina Patel, said the CBSA was committed to stopping the smuggling of illegal drugs and disrupting transnational criminal networks.
“We work alongside the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Border Force to combat organised crime and protect communities, both in Canada and abroad,” Director General Patel said.
The container arrived in Port Botany on 13 November 2025.
AFP officers inserted an inert substance into the consignment to replicate the original weight and appearance, and conducted a controlled delivery.
The consignment was delivered to a shed in Kurrajong, in the Hawkesbury region, north-west of Sydney, on 27 November, 2025.
Police will allege two men, one from Kellyville in Sydney’s north-west, entered the shed that evening.
Both men were arrested by police. The second man has been released pending further inquiries.
Further raids occurred at a Castle Hill home and vehicle, with officers seizing electronic devices and documents.
He was charged with one count of attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug, namely methamphetamine. This offence carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
He was granted conditional bail on 24 February by the Supreme Court of NSW.