Asia’s Most Wanted Drug Kingpin Faces Life Imprisonment, Extradited To Australia

A man who has been compared to Mexican drug lord El Chapo has finally been extradited on Thursday, Dec. 22.

Tse Chi Lop is accused of heading a multibillion-drug operation that spanned several countries in the Asia Pacific, covering Japan to New Zealand.

He was arrested at a Dutch airport last year by Interpol and was finally extradited after a two-year battle, Reuters reported.

Australian police released photos showing armed cops escorting the 59-year-old kingpin off a plane at the Melbourne airport in handcuffs. He was scheduled to be in court on Thursday.

Tse is believed to be the mind behind the company identified as Sam Gor Syndicate which reportedly dominates the drug market across Asia.

According to Australian police, the company is responsible for about 70% of the drugs coming into Australia alone.

They added that the group smuggled huge quantities of drugs - particularly methamphetamine, but also heroin and ketamine - into the country in packs of tea.

Tse was reportedly involved in operations from 2012 to 2013, the time when a load of methamphetamine was trafficked into the country. It was estimated to be worth around $4.4 million.

Police were able to track down some of the proceeds of the drug trade in a home in Melbourne. About $4 million in cash was discovered aside from 99 designer handbags and a yellow Lamborghini.

The scale of his enterprise was so huge, a reason why he was compared to Joaquin Guzman or better known as “El Chapo.”

Australian police had been trying to pin down Tse for more than a decade. The 59-year-old was detained at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport in January 2021 while trying to board a plane.

Tse denied the drug charges and claimed that it was a setup done by Australian authorities, CNN reported. His arrest involved about 20 agencies across continents with the Australian police leading it.