Indian national charged after alleged $5.6m pseudoephedrine import bust at Sydney port

An Indian man has been charged after Australian authorities found a $5.6 million pseudoephedrine shipment hidden in a food consignment at Sydney’s Port Botany.The man appeared before Parramatta District court on Thursday after Australian Border Force officers seized about 166kg of pseudoephedrine, a controlled chemical commonly used in the manufacture of methamphetamine.The shipment arrived from India in early May 2026 and had been declared as a food product, reports Australia Today. ABF officers became suspicious after detecting anomalies in three pallets during an inspection at Port Botany. A closer examination uncovered several pouches filled with a white powder that later tested positive for pseudoephedrine.Investigators claim the seized quantity carried an estimated street value of $5.6 million.On May 11, ABF officers carried out a managed delivery operation, allowing the consignment to be transported to a storage facility in Parramatta under surveillance. Three days later, a man was arrested after allegedly attempting to collect the shipment.He has since been charged with importing a border-controlled precursor under section 307.11(3) of the Criminal Code (Cth). The offence carries a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.Authorities later searched the man’s hotel room on May 15, where they found three mobile phones, a laptop and business-related documents.ABF Superintendent Shaun Baker weighed in on the agency’s intelligence-driven approach to border security: “The seizure demonstrated the effectiveness of intelligence-led border operations,” Baker said, describing pseudoephedrine as “a key ingredient in methamphetamine production that fuels serious drug harm in Australian communities.”