(LAWFUEL) – Operatives from the Joint Asian Crime Group (JACG) yesterday arrested a man in Sydney for his alleged involvement in the possession and supply of 14 kilograms ofheroin.
The 21-year-old Malaysian man was arrested by JACG officers yesterday as he was about to board an international flight. He will appear in Sydney Central Local court this morning charged with the possession and supply of the drugs.
The investigation began in January 2009 following the arrest of two Singaporean nationals for the same offences. The drug has been analysed and found to be high-quality heroin. JACG officers arrested the man and charged him with the possession and supply of a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug, contrary to the Drug Misuse & Trafficking
Act 1985 (NSW).
AFP National Manager Border and International, Tim Morris, said the arrest showed the value of effective cooperation between law enforcement agencies. “The disruption of this transnational syndicate is an example of Australian law enforcement agencies working together against the global problem of drug trafficking,” Assistant Commissioner Morris said.
Commander of the NSW Police Force Asian Crime Squad, Detective Acting
Superintendent Scott Cook said the arrest was a good example of the ongoing law enforcement partnerships established to impact on high level organised crime.
The JACG is a multi-agency, multi-disciplinary unit comprising the AFP, NSW Police Force, Australian Customs Service, the Australian Crime Commission and the NSW Crime Commission. The specialist expertise of its member agencies is used to target major organised criminal activity of Asian syndicates in NSW.
The maximum penalty for this offence is life imprisonment and/or a $550,000 fine.
