British actress Emaa Hussen has been charged after allegedly trying to smuggle 320kg of methamphetamine into Australia from West Africa.
The 34-year-old, who is best known for playing Naz in EastEnders spin-off E20 and also appeared in Jason Statham’s action-thriller ‘Hummingbird’, appeared in a Sydney court on Thursday.
Police allege Hussen, along with a couple from South Australia, tried to import methamphetamine by hiding it in bags of charcoal in shipping containers from Ghana.
Police launched an investigation after Australian Border Force officers detected ‘anomalies’ in the containers.
Officers x-rayed the bags and found a white crystalised substance which returned a positive result for methamphetamine.
The bags contained around 320kg of the drug which has an estimated street value of $296 million AUD (about £157m).
The drugs were removed from the shipment by police before it was delivered to a storage facility in Sydney’s western suburbs.
Police allege that Hussen went to the storage facility and supervised a number of men as they unpacked the container.
Several bags were then loaded into a vehicle and driven to a house nearby in Blacktown.
Shortly afterwards, officers investigators executed a search warrant at the house, where Hussen was arrested.
Police found 32 bags inside, which were allegedly those that had previously contained methamphetamine.
Officers also seized electronic devices and a notebook.
A woman, 30 and a man, 32 were arrested in Adelaide for allegedly attempting to rent the storage units in Sydney by using false identities.
Detective Acting Superintendent Trevor Robinson said the Australian Federal Police is continuing to investigate the suppliers and key facilitators of the drug importation.
Hussen’s charge of attempting to import a commercial quantity of methamphetamine into Australia carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
She was refused bail in an earlier court decision and is due back in court in August.
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