Cocaine busted in kiteboard bags.

Nobody ‘boogie boards’ anymore, even drug smugglers know that the art of laying down on a foam board has had its heyday. So in a bid to fool Australian Customs, they’ve turned to kiteboard bags for smuggling their illegal goods into Australia.

This week a 38 year old Sydney man was sentenced after being caught waiting at the baggage carousel for two kiteboard bags in April. Inside the bags was 19 million dollars worth of Cocaine, which weighed in at 75kgs. For those of you who know your drug street values, it takes around 100kgs of the drug to fetch 19 mil, the other 25kg import was discovered earlier in the year, after the AFP reviewed footage and noticed the man also collecting a ‘golf bag’ from the baggage carousel. Was this a ‘Golf’ bag, like kiteboarders use to smuggle overweight kiteboarding gear onto a flight, or a Golf bag full of actual golf clubs, we’re not sure, but it does make you wonder whether the guy was actually a kiter!

Australian Customs and Border Protection Services Regional Commander for NSW, Tim Fitzgerald highlighted the fact that the man was a maintenance worker for the Sydney Airport, who may have had a somewhat easier time smuggling the drugs through than the general public:

“The arrest of this man should act as a warning to anyone considering abusing a privileged position at an Australian airport. Customs and Border Protection officers are dedicated to protecting the Australian community from all threats, including those from people in positions of trust.”

To catch the guy, Customs first found the drugs in a scan after the bags were taken off the aircraft. Instead of just pulling the bag aside and trying to work out who owned it. They simply put it back together, threw it on the carousel and waited to see who picked it up! Imagine the guys delight when he saw his kite bags being trundled out by airport staff, only to be arrested and jailed shortly after.

Let this serve a little reminder to any of you kiters out there, who are bringing home extra weight in your kiteboarding bags. You better hope that weight is just wet harnesses and sand!