A British actress has been charged with attempting to smuggle 700 pounds of methamphetamine into Australia from West Africa, according to CBS News’ partner network the BBC.
Emaa Hussen, 34, who appeared in the 2013 action thriller “Redemption” with Jason Statham, and a spin-off of the U.K.’s long-running series EastEnders in 2010, appeared in a Sydney court Thursday to face accusations of trying to bring $208 million worth of meth into the country.
Police have said the drugs were hidden in bags of charcoal loaded into shipping containers sent from Ghana, according to the BBC. The maximum penalty Hussen could face is life imprisonment.
A file photo shows methamphetamine seized by the Australian Federal Police, on display in Sydney, May 15, 2015.
Rick Rycroft/AP
The drugs seizure “has prevented a potential 3.2 million deals from reaching Australian streets,” Acting Superintendent Trevor Robinson, of the Australian Federal Police, said in a statement.
“Criminal syndicates will go to great lengths to disguise illicit drugs, including embedding them in everyday goods like charcoal, but our highly skilled officers are trained to see beyond these attempts,” said Border Force Superintendent Jared Leighton.
“A white crystalized substance”
Australian police first launched their investigation in April after finding a “white crystalizedsubstance” in two shipping containers sent from Ghana to Sydney’s Port Botany. They said Hussen helped several men unpacked the containers, then load the goods into a vehicle. They drove to a home where police arrested Hussen.
Police found 32 bags at the house, according to Australia’s 9News.
A South African couple, 30 and 32 years old, were also arrested for using false identities to rent storage units.
Hussen has been refused bail and has another court date in August.
