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'Biggest Ever' Shipment Of Meth Was Hidden In Speakers Bound For Australia

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — A shipment of drugs seized at the Port of Los Angeles is believed to be the largest-ever domestic seizure of methamphetamine, federal authorities said this week.

meth-australian-bust
(credit: CBS)

More than 1.7 tons of methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin were discovered on Jan. 11 concealed within a shipment of loud speakers on a ship at the Los Angeles/Long Beach seaport. The drugs were in two containers that had been destined for Australia.

Inked Officer extracting Meth from Loud Speaker_LI
(credit: U.S. Customs and Border Protection)

The drugs were found concealed inside dozens of metal boxes that were declared as "Single Loud Speakers." The seizure included 3,810 pounds of methamphetamine, 55.9 pounds of cocaine and 11.5 pounds of heroin.

"This is the biggest ever seizure of methamphetamine – more than 1.7 tons – stopped before it had a chance to reach Australian streets," Bruce Hill, Australian Federal Police's national manager organized crime assistant commissioner, said in a statement.

Two U.S. citizens and four Australian citizens were arrested as part of the bust. They are believed to be involved with the U.S.-based transnational crime syndicate suspected of conducting the record shipment.

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