A New South Wales man aroused suspicion after leaving a suitcase filled with over $1 million in cash on a plane at Perth airport, leading to his arrest on money laundering charges.
The 21-year-old from North Rocks appeared in the Perth Magistrates Court, charged with one count relating to money that is the proceeds of crime, after he was arrested in Sydney and extradited to Western Australia. The maximum penalty is 12 years in prison.
The investigation began on Feb. 17, 2025, when the man tried to use a credit card to pay an excess baggage fee for a suitcase at Perth airport. Airline staff refused to take the payment because the name on the card was different from that on the boarding pass and told him his flight booking had been cancelled.
Although he'd already put his bag on the conveyor and it was on its way to the plane, he left the terminal without waiting for it to be returned. Later that day, he came back and caught a flight to Sydney on a different airline.
Abandoned suitcases are sure to attract the attention of the police, and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) duly arrived with a dog trained to detect currency, firearms, and drugs.
When the dog indicated something suspicious about the case, it was opened to reveal $1,102,440 (US$703,000) in cash, wrapped in plastic bundles.
Two days later, on Feb. 19, the AFP searched the man’s Sydney home and seized electronic devices and clothing for further examination.
At this stage, they don’t know how the man came to be in possession of such a large sum, but they allege that the interstate investigation had successfully disrupted significant money laundering activities.
“The AFP is working tirelessly with partners to protect the community and Australia’s legitimate economy and ensure air travel is not used as part of the criminal supply chain,” Detective Superintendent Peter Chwal said.
“Anyone with large amounts of undeclared cash can be put before the courts to explain the source of that wealth.”
The investigation is still ongoing.
According to a 2024 risk assessment by the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), drug offences (including cultivation, manufacture, and trafficking), tax and revenue crimes, and defrauding government-funded programs generate the highest value of illicit proceeds that require laundering.
“The illicit drug market is a key driver of money laundering in Australia,” the report said.
Although it assessed cash smuggling as a medium risk, it said instances were decreasing as criminals moved to electronic wealth transfers.
Since the AFP established a money laundering task force in March 2023, AUSTRAC estimates that organised crime groups have been deprived of more than $421 million in cash and assets.
However, a 2022 report by the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) estimated that the amount of criminal proceeds generated in Australia per year could be as high as $43.7 billion.
