Couple busted $820 million drug importation scheme – FBC News

An American couple expected to get their share of $820 million when they organized a tonne of methamphetamine and cocaine to be shipped to Australia.

But Nasser Abo Abdo, 57, and Leonor Fajardoa, 52, will instead spend time behind bars after their plan was thwarted by US Homeland Security and Australian police.

The US officials in February 2019 intercepted three containers that the couple had organized to be shipped from California to Melbourne.

Two of the containers contained hundreds of car radio condenser boxes that concealed bags of methamphetamine and cocaine.

A total of 1,293 tons of pure methamphetamine and 15,794 kg of pure cocaine were seized by US authorities.

The street value of the drugs was more than $820 million.

The US officers removed the drugs before sending the containers to Melbourne, while Australian police expected Abo Abdo and Fajardoa to collect them.

But the couple were instead arrested before the containers arrived after police got wind of their plans to travel abroad.

Sentencing the couple on Friday, Judge Michael O’Connell of the Victorian County Court said it was difficult to overstate the seriousness of the offending.

“The value of the drugs is difficult to understand,” he said.

“It is possible to identify some cases that are more serious than this, but there are not many.”

Abo Abdo and Fajardoa were expressionless as they were sentenced to 21 years in prison and 14 years behind bars respectively.

But both have already spent more than five years in prison, meaning Abo Abdo could be released on parole in nine years and Fajardoa in three years.

The pair pleaded guilty to conspiracy to impose import duties after receiving a criminal notice.

Judge O’Connell noted that Abo Abdo had played a key role in the crime as he was the one who worked with the American syndicate and a Sydney-based crime gang to distribute the drugs.

The 57-year-old even traveled to Los Angeles with Fajardoa to pack the containers themselves.

“Although your role was not that of a main perpetrator, you were nevertheless a driving force,” Judge O’Connell said.

“You would make millions of dollars from the business.”

Fajardoa played a smaller role, but must have understood that a significant amount of drugs were being imported, the judge said.

In sentencing, Judge O’Connell took into account that the couple had no previous criminal convictions in Australia or the US.

Their time in custody had also been more challenging due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the distance from their children abroad and the weight of the sentences hanging over their heads.

But Judge O’Connell said it was important that the sentences deter would-be drug importers from committing such serious crimes.

“The potential positives of such an undertaking will be neutralized by the risk of severe penalties,” he said.

Conspiracy to import carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Australian and US authorities said in a statement that the drug shipment at the time was the largest ever bound for Australia and the largest seizure in the US.

Australian Border Force Chief Inspector Ben Michalke said federal authorities remained committed to dismantling organized crime.

“This historic seizure prevented an unprecedented amount of methamphetamine from reaching our communities,” he said.

“Our coordinated efforts are critical in identifying and disrupting criminal networks in their attempts to exploit our borders.”