British actress charged with importing meth to Australia

A British actress has been charged in Australia over an alleged plot to import 320 kilograms of methamphetamine with an estimated street value of 296 million Australian dollars. Emaa Hussen, 34, appeared in a Sydney court on Thursday, June 18, 2026, after being arrested in connection with the seizure of drugs concealed within bags of charcoal shipped from Ghana.

Hussen, best known for playing Naz Mehmet in the BBC soap opera spinoff "EastEnders: E20" from 2010 to 2011, faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment if convicted. She is charged with attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug. An Adelaide-based couple, aged 30 and 32, were also charged in April 2026 for their alleged involvement in the operation.

The investigation began in April after Australian Border Force officers detected anomalies in two shipping containers at Sydney's Port Botany. Authorities X-rayed the containers, which were declared as containing charcoal, and discovered a white crystallized substance. Testing confirmed the substance was methamphetamine. The drugs were removed before the shipment was allowed to proceed to a storage facility in the Sydney suburb of Girraween as...