[Sativa]

A 49-year-old Australian has been extradited from Cuba on charges of attempting to import millions of dollars worth of cannabis resin into Australia more than a decade ago.

The man was due to face the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday charged with conspiring to import eight tonnes of cannabis resin, a processed and solidified form of the marijuana plant.

He was charged on his arrival on Wednesday in Brisbane after being escorted from the Caribbean Island by the Australian Federal Police.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

The AFP allege the man was the master of a vessel named Highlander, which made two unsuccessful attempts to transport 7.989 tonnes of cannabis resin from another ship to shore near Poona in Queensland's south-east in late 1996.

The AFP said the man then left Australia before the drugs were imported and seized under a joint AFP and Customs investigation.

The AFP obtained an arrest warrant for the man in August 1997 and he was then subject to an Interpol worldwide alert.

Cuban authorities detained the man in April this year when he tried to enter Cuba before being extradited to Australia.

AFP International Network national manager Assistant Commissioner Tim Morris said the extradition was the first between Cuba and Australia.

"It finalises a major operation that resulted in the conviction of 17 people for their involvement in the importation and the dismantling of a global trafficking syndicate," Mr Morris said.

"This final arrest is a significant achievement for the AFP and its international and Australian partner agencies."


Website: News Hawk: Lord Mong - http://www.420Magazine.com
Source: The Age
Author: Australian Associated Press
Contact: feedback@theage.com.au
Copyright: 2007 Australian Associated Press
Website: Alleged drug runner escorted from Cuba