This is a joint media release between the AFP and Australian Border Force.
Transnational and serious organised criminals are targeting the elderly in online scams to coerce the victims into working as drug mules to recoup their debts, according to a new trend identified by the AFP.
This new drug mule trend was exposed following a series of illicit drug detections by the Australian Border Force (ABF) at Sydney International Airport involving elderly and vulnerable passengers since the reopening of international borders.
Since October 2021, the AFP has arrested 18 alleged drug mules upon their arrival on board international flights into Australia. When the illicit drugs were found by ABF officers, some of the accused told the AFP they had been coerced into the role after they became victims of online financial scams.
Some alleged scam victims have claimed they were travelling under the direction of international criminal syndicates and were carrying illicit drugs hidden inside their luggage.
AFP Commander Kate Ferry said it was not surprising criminal syndicates were attempting to import drugs into Australia by any means possible.
“Criminal syndicates, by their very nature, exploit vulnerable communities and will undertake whatever tactics necessary to import drugs into our country,” she said.
“We have unfortunately seen instances where people have not only fallen victim to classic inheritance or investment scams and lost their money, but they are then offered false hope to…
