Perth man jailed for more than five years over methamphetamine seizure that was concealed within notebooks

A Perth man has copped more than five years prison time over a methamphetamine seizure that was concealed within notebooks. The 39-year-old man was sentenced in the WA District Court on Friday to five years and six months jail with a non-parole period of three years and six months. The AFP arrested and charged the man in August 2021. The arrest came about after Australian Border Force (ABF) officers in Perth found the illicit drugs in an air cargo consignment from Malaysia. “ABF officers found anomalies in the lining of the notebooks when they checked the package and (a) further examination uncovered a crystal-like substance, which was found to be about 406g of methamphetamine,” the ABF said in a statement. The case was referred to the AFP and the illicit drugs were removed before the package was delivered to the man’s Heathridge address. Police were watching as the man collected the substituted package from the front doorstep before riding off on a motorised scooter. Police followed the man and moved in to arrest him but when he saw a car drive towards him, he sped off on his scooter. With help from WA Police officers, the AFP finally arrested the man who was found hiding in a backyard shed. The man later claimed that because the officers were in plainclothes and not in uniform, he thought it was criminals trying to steal the package, or his scooter. The AFP charged the man with attempting to possess a marketable quantity of an unlawfully imported border controlled drug, a charge which he eventually pleaded guilty to earlier this year. ABF Superintendent James Payne said his officers were always on alert for illicit drugs coming through the international cargo and mail streams. “Regardless if it is meth built into books, toys or other methods of concealment, our officers use cutting edge detection equipment to prevent these illicit goods from making their way into the Australian community,” Supt. Payne said.