Sydney, April 7: In today’s WTF news, a 75-year-old Sydney woman from Cabramatta will now have to spend the rest of her life behind bars for importing heroin into Australia — for the third time.
The woman, who had previously been convicted twice for heroin smuggling offences in New South Wales, was sentenced to 12 years in prison by the Victorian County Court on Tuesday (April 1, 2025). She will serve a non-parole period of eight years.
This latest offence involved smuggling 5.1kg of heroin into Melbourne hidden inside a hammock packed in her luggage. She was stopped by Australian Border Force (ABF) officers at Melbourne Airport on January 26, 2024, after arriving on a flight from Laos. Officers noted anomalies in her luggage, leading to the discovery of approximately 7kg of a suspicious substance.
Initial testing returned a positive result for heroin. Further forensic testing by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) confirmed it to be about 5.1kg of heroin, with a pure net weight of 3.75kg.
She later pleaded guilty to importing a commercial quantity of heroin, an offence under section 307.1 of the Criminal Code (Cth), during a hearing on March 13, 2025.
AFP Acting Commander Jason McArthur said the case was another example of the cold-blooded nature of drug networks.
“Criminals have zero regard for the people they involve in their crimes, or the devastating impact of illicit drugs on members of our society,” he said.
“If this amount of heroin had reached our streets, it could have caused significant harm.”
ABF Acting Superintendent Costas Karatzas echoed the warning to those involved in the drug trade.
“The ABF is well versed in concealment methods favoured by organised crime, including the use of drug mules, and our officers are highly skilled in assessing and preventing any risks to our border,” he said.
“The ABF along with the AFP remain committed to combatting the scourge of criminal elements trying to peddle highly-addictive drugs into the community.”
This marks the woman’s third conviction for heroin importation — and this time, she won’t be seeing the outside world for quite a while.
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