Two men have been charged after authorities intercepted about 45kg of ketamine hidden in car parts imported from Germany. Federal Police (AFP) began investigating on 14 August 2025, after Australian Border Force officers flagged the drugs concealed inside 66 car drive shafts.
A controlled delivery of the car parts was made to a Merrylands address on 26 August, where a 27-year-old allegedly collected them and moved them to an underground car park at his Granville home. Police will allege a 45-year-old man from Burwood directed the operation through calls and messages. The pair reportedly planned to extract the ketamine at a Granville storage unit.
Searches of both men’s homes uncovered cash, multiple phones, and a currency counting machine. They face charges of attempting to import and possess a commercial quantity of border-controlled drugs, each carrying a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The seizure, worth an estimated $9.5 million, could have supplied about 1.1 million street deals.
“Drug addiction has a profound impact on individuals and the wider community. Ketamine is a devastating drug, and criminals have no regard to the pain and misery it inflicts on users and their loved ones”, a police spokesman said.
Ketamine is described as a potent anaesthetic and may be used on animals like horses and pigs. It is popular on the underground dance-scene as it can induce euphoria, disassociation (described as trance-like or dream-like), feelings of inner peace, hallucinations, and amplified sensory reactions.
Inappropriate use can induce a long list of short term and long-term harm ranging from the relatively minor (temporarily increased sweating) to severe such as long-term panic attacks, depression, and psychosis. it can induce loss of body movement, impaired sensations, and numbness. The drug has been implicated in sexual assault cases.
In overdose situations, it can result in death.
