Many stories are known about people trying to bring computer equipment through border control, overcoming certain restrictions. However, some devices are great for hiding other items inside them. In Australia, two men have been charged with trying to smuggle 30kg of methamphetamine into the country by hiding it inside 3D printers. The suspects, aged 33 and 36, are believed to be high-ranking members of an international crime syndicate.

The AFP (Australian Federal Police) and the FBI conducted a special operation called Operation Ironside, in which every message sent through the encrypted communications platform An0m was intercepted for three years starting in 2018. One of the reports indicated that one of the detainees coordinated more than 30 attempts to import methamphetamine into Australia in 2020.

The AFP, working with the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC), uncovered a plot to import 30kg of methamphetamine, worth around $30 million, into Australia using 3D printers.

The agencies intercepted the US drugs before they reached Australia. One of the two men was arrested by Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau in New Taipei City in late July, and the other in Taoyuan City in October. Both were charged with the illegal transportation of Category 2 drugs and could be sentenced to life in prison in Taiwan if convicted.

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Photos from the Australian Federal Police show the now-discontinued Flashforge Creator 3 3D printer was chosen by smugglers as the container. The industrial 3D printer has a door and quite large dimensions of 627 x 485 x 615 mm, which probably partly explains why it was chosen. The device weighs 52 kg, so 30 kg of methamphetamine was probably going to be distributed among several printers.

How else is contraband transported?

While laptops aren’t as roomy as 3D printers, they’re often used to hide illegal items, like the knife inside a Gigabyte laptop found by a TSA agent.

Most smuggling stories tend to involve people using unusual methods to attach components to their bodies, including a recent story of a woman who tried to enter China with more than 200 Intel processors and nine iPhone with a total cost of about $100,000. ., depicting pregnancy with the help of an artificial belly.

Also known is a man who tried to smuggle 160 processors and 16 foldable phones through customs, a smuggler who used plastic film to attach 256 processors to his body, and a woman who tried the same trick with 102 iPhones.

Two Ukrainians tried to launch a drone with cigarettes from abroad to Romania — failed (they were spotted by border guards)

Source: TechSpot