(LAWFUEL) – A 25-year-old Singaporean man will face Perth Magistrates Court today charged with importing heroin into Australia, concealed inside his shoes.
Customs and Border Protection officers stopped the man for questioning when he arrived at Perth International Airport on Thursday (16 April) on a flight from Bangkok. During a search of the man and his baggage, officers became suspicious the man may have been concealing drugs within the soles of his shoes. The shoes were x-rayed and revealed anomalies consistent with a drug concealment. Further investigation of the shoes revealed approximately 350 grams of a white powdered substance.
Initial testing of the substance indicated the presence of heroin and the man was referred to the Australian Federal Police (AFP).
The AFP charged the man with importing a marketable quantity of a border
controlled drug, contrary to section 307.2 of the Criminal Code Act 1995.
The maximum penalty for this offence is 25 years imprisonment and/or a
$550,000 fine.
The packages will undergo forensic testing to determine their exact weight and purity.
