A 91-year-old Sydney man has been charged with importing cocaine hidden in soap into Australia, prompting police to warn travellers to beware they are not tricked into becoming drug mules.
The man, whose name has not been released, faces a potential life prison sentence if he is convicted of importing 4.5 kilograms (10 pounds) of cocaine into Sydney Airport on a flight from New Delhi last month, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection said in a statement Tuesday.
A search of the man's luggage found 27 packages of soap which tested positive for cocaine.
Police have not said whether the man was an unwitting drug courier. But Australian Federal Police manager Wayne Buchhorn warned that unwittingly bringing drugs into Australia could result in charges.
"People can expect they will be charged if they knowingly bring drugs into Australia, or are reckless or wilfully blind to the fact that there could be narcotics concealed inside their luggage or items they are carrying," Buchhorn said in a statement.
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