$30M DRUG SEIZURE CRACKS CRIME SYNDICATE

Law enforcement officers are confident they have broken a major drug
syndicate following the seizure of 430,000 tablets, believed to be
ecstasy, with an estimated value of $30million.

The drugs, manufactured in South-East Asia, were seized on Tuesday
after arriving on a ship from Malaysia just over two weeks ago.

The tablets were hidden in 69 boxes of marble tiles, with the centre
of each box hollowed out and packed with about 6,000 tablets. At a
total of 150 kilograms, it is the second-biggest amphetamine seizure
on record.

Six people have been arrested and charged as a result of the
seven-month investigation, led by the National Crime Authority and
involving the Joint Asian Crime Group, the Australian Federal Police,
Customs and NSW police from Crime Agencies.

One man, believed to be the principal of the syndicate, was still
being sought in Hong Kong last night.

Police said that while he had links to the Triad group the Sun Yee On,
they did not believe it was a Triad operation. "This guy is just
active in his own right," a police source said.

Authorities said the man had previously been arrested in Australia but
had not been convicted.

The manager of investigations for the NCA, Mike Purchas, said that in
terms of organised crime, those involved in the syndicate were "right
at the pinnacle".

He said police "have certainly dismantled the Australian end of
it".

But police said the seizure highlighted a growing problem: the arrival
in Australia of ecstasy manufactured in South-East Asia rather than
Britain or the Netherlands, the traditional sources.

They said amphetamines had taken off in some Asian countries in the
past few years, particularly a drug called Yaba, which was about 70
per cent caffeine and about 15 per cent amphetamine.

"Going back four or five years a lot of heroin labs changed over to
producing Yaba," one law enforcement source said.

The makers saw amphetamines as not having the same stigma as heroin,
and perhaps carrying a lighter penalty should they be caught.

Mr Purchas said those arrested had also been involved in the organised
shoplifting of luxury goods such as jewellery.

The national director of the NCA, Bob McDonald, said the syndicate had
links to Canada as well as Hong Kong, and it would also be alleged it
was involved in importing small amounts of heroin through the mail.