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British cruise ship passenger arrested in Sydney, Australia

22 February 2012 03:37 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. A British cruise ship passenger has been arrested at the Overseas Passenger Terminal in Sydney’s Circular Quay after he allegedly attempted to smuggle a large quantity of cocaine into Australia, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said on Wednesday, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

The 59-year-old British man, who traveled to Sydney aboard the P&O ship Aurora, was stopped by Australian Customs and Border Protection officers on Feb. 17 after drug detection dog showed a positive reaction to narcotics.

He was subsequently found to be concealing several silver packages inside a wetsuit he was wearing beneath his clothes and a further 25 packages concealed in three suitcases were discovered in the man’s cabin, the AFP said.

AFP officers estimated that the man was carrying 30 kilograms of cocaine.

The man is expected to appear in Sydney Central Local Court on Wednesday.

The maximum penalty for this offense is life imprisonment and an 825,000 AU dollars (879,000 U.S. dollars) fine.