UK actress Emaa Hussen, 34, has been arrested and charged with attempting to smuggle 320kg of methamphetamine into Australia. She appeared in a Sydney court on Thursday, June 18, and the maximum punishment for her alleged crime is a life sentence.
Alleged Drug Smuggling
The actress is best known for her role as Naz Mehmet in the EastEnders spin-off E20. She is accused of hiding meth in charcoal bags shipped from Ghana to Australia. Police uncovered the drugs, with a street value of £157 million, in Port Botany. Two Adelaide residents were also arrested in April in connection with the crime. Hussen will return to court in August and has been refused bail.
Border Force Officers were tipped off about the shipment destined for a storage facility in Girraween. X-rays revealed a white crystallized substance in two shipping containers. The contents, listed as charcoal bags, tested positive for methamphetamine.
Hussen allegedly supervised men unpacking the bags, then drove to a Blacktown residence where she was arrested and electronic devices were seized. Investigators found 32 identical bags at the property. The two Adelaide suspects allegedly rented the storage facility using false identities.
Local police stated: "The seizure of these drugs has prevented a potential 3.2 million deals from reaching Australian streets and demonstrates the AFP's ability to operate seamlessly across borders."
Acting Career
Hussen is best known for playing Naz Mehmet in EastEnders: E20 in 2011. She described her character as torn between traditional Muslim values and modern East End life. She also starred in the 2013 Jason Statham film Hummingbird and The Plot to Bring Down Britain's Planes in 2012.
Personal Life
In a 2015 Guardian interview, Hussen shared her experience as a refugee arriving in London in 1999 at age eight. Born in Baghdad, her family fled due to conflict. She attended Catholic school and struggled financially. She later moved to London, where she found an Iraqi community and began acting.
