Australian police are still hunting a suspected drug ring four months after a Scottish couple were charged over an alleged £6 million ketamine seizure in Sydney.
Demi McDaid, 23, and her partner Jack Farrelly, 30, both from Edinburgh, were arrested at the end of June at a hotel in Sydney after police allegedly found 105kg of the drug in a car parked at the accommodation.
The pair have been charged with supplying a prohibited drug, supplying a prohibited drug in a large commercial quantity, and one count of participating in a criminal group contributing to criminal activity. Neither McDaid nor Farrelly has entered a plea.
Ongoing Investigation
Under New South Wales law, a criminal group is defined as three or more people engaged in conduct which constitutes a serious indictable offence. NSW Police confirmed no one else had yet been charged over the alleged ketamine haul.
A spokesperson told the Daily Mail: "Further investigations into anyone else who may have been involved are underway."
Court Proceedings
McDaid and Farrelly remain behind bars in prisons after their case was mentioned in Downing Centre Local Court last Thursday. They were not required to appear but were represented by a lawyer when their case was briefly mentioned.
Neither made an application for bail and it was formally refused by Judge Aaron Tang, who adjourned the matter until November 12 and ordered the prosecution brief to be served by that date.
The duo could be given life behind bars if they are found guilty for large commercial supply of a prohibited drug. The offence attracts a 'standard non-parole' period of 15 years.
Seized Evidence
The Record previously reported how police said mobile phones, $2,000 Australian (£1,060) in cash, and documents described by officers as drug ledgers were also seized at the hotel.
Detectives had earlier allegedly found 2kg of ketamine at a short-term stay unit in Artarmon on Sydney's Lower North Shore, along with scales, gloves and other paraphernalia.
Police claim they travelled to Australia "for the sole purpose of taking part in the distribution and supply of large commercial quantities of prohibited drugs".
A Foreign Office spokesperson previously said: "We are supporting two British nationals detained in Australia and are in contact with the local authorities."
The drugs are understood to have an estimated street value of AUD$11 million (roughly £5.7 million). In images released by police, a rental car can be seen packed with bags of the drug in Sydney. Other pictures show piles of ketamine packed on top of one another.
Before the pair moved to Australia, McDaid filmed herself posing with designer bags and bragging about Farrelly flying her out to an unknown destination. In the video, she posed in an airport with a Chanel handbag and a Louis Vuitton holdall. The caption reads: "POV: He books you to a flight to where he is cause you miss each other that much and can't go a few days without seeing one another."
