04 January 2023 , 15:26
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An Irish passenger has been charged after allegedly trying to hide kinder eggs full of cocaine inside his body and could now face up to 25 years behind bars.
The man, 28, was stopped by Border control officers at Melbourne Airport on December 28. He was charged with one count of importing a "marketable quantity of a border-controlled substance" and is due to appear in court in March.
After he was questioned by officers, he was taken to the nearby Royal Melbourne hospital for a CT scan, which revealed six separate yellow Kinder Surprise egg capsules
Border force and Australian police said the man, who arrived in Melbourne on a flight from the Middle East, had "excreted six yellow plastic capsules".
Police alleged the eggs contained about 120g of cocaine. Five of them, they claimed, were wrapped in condoms and the other in plastic cling film.
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The man was charged with one count of importing a "marketable quantity of a border-controlled substance" (BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)Since the charges, he appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court on December 30 and was remanded in custody.
Australian Federal Police Detective Acting Superintendent, Chris Salmon, said: "Smuggling drugs internally is idiotic.
"There is the real risk that something could go wrong, resulting in a potentially fatal drug overdose or permanent damage to internal organs."
Border force said: "It is not worth risking your health by attempting to internally transport drugs into our country as ABF officers are highly trained in detection and will ensure that you are stopped at the border."
Around 120g of cocaine was found in the eggs (Getty Images/iStockphoto)Also in December, a man was jailed for three years and two months at Worcester Crown Court after a "brazen" attempt to hide drugs inside a Kinder egg.
Drugs were discovered in Andrew Poulton-Smith's car in September. Inside a bag, police found Kinder eggs concealing drugs.
The 22-year-old had previously admitted to possession of the Class A drugs diamorphine and crack cocaine with intent to supply.
He also admitted breaching a suspended jail sentence, as reported by Worcester News.
DI Dave Knight of South Worcestershire Priority CID said: "This was a decent prison sentence for a County Line Drug dealer who was disrupted by South Worcestershire Proactive CID very early into his chosen career in peddling Class A Drugs.
"Poulton-Smith was particularly brazen with his dealing using a bum bag to carry his Kinder egg filled with drugs. I hope the length of sentence sends a message to others intent on dealing drugs within South Worcestershire that it's really not worth it."
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