Actress Charged with Importing 320kg of Methamphetamine from Ghana to Australia
Emaa Hussen, 34, known for her role as Naz in the East Enders spin‑off E20 and for acting in Jason Statham’s 2013 film “Hummingbird”, appeared in a Sydney court on Thursday after prosecutors accused her of attempting to import a commercial quantity of methamphetamine into Australia.
Police allege that Hussen and two men from South Australia tried to bring 320 kg of meth hidden in bags of charcoal in shipping containers arriving from Ghana. The drugs were detected in two containers that landed at the Port Botany in Sydney in April. The containers were labelled as legitimate commodity shipments; however, X‑ray scans found a white crystalline substance that later tested positive for meth.
The seized drug has a street value estimated at A$296 million (US$208 million), according to investigators. Police say the seizure stopped roughly 3.2 million potential illicit deals from reaching Australian streets.
Authorities say Hussen supervised the unloading of the containers at a storage facility in Girraween, in Sydney’s western suburbs. From there, the meth was loaded into a vehicle, driving to a house in Blacktown where Hussen was arrested. Electronic devices and a notebook were also seized.
Along with Hussen, a 30‑year‑old woman and a 32‑year‑old man were arrested in Adelaide for allegedly renting the Sydney storage units under false identities. The pair are charged with assisting in the drug smuggling operation.
Hussen was previously denied bail in a earlier court hearing and will be back on the docket in August. The maximum penalty for her offence is life imprisonment.
Deputy Acting Superintendent Trevor Robinson of the Australian Federal Police praised the inspection of the containers that prevented the shipment from being released. “Criminal syndicates will go to great lengths to disguise illicit drugs, including embedding them in everyday goods like charcoal, but our highly skilled officers are trained to see beyond these attempts,” he said.
Image credit: BBC; Facebook of Australian Federal Police / Australian Border Force for the second photograph of bags at the storage facility.
