British couple face life in prison after being caught in multi-million-pound Australian drug sting

A British couple are facing life in an Australian prison after being caught in a multi-million-pound drug sting in Sydney,

Demi McDaid, 23, and her boyfriend Jack Farrelly, 30, from Scotland were arrested at a hotel on June 26 following a raid by New South Wales Police (NSWP).

Officers discovered 107kg of ketamine in the boot of a rental car shared by the couple during the operation.

Mobile phones, over $2,000 (£1,045) in cash - and documents police believe to be drug ledgers were also recovered.

A simultaneous search of a property on Hampden Road in the Sydney suburb of Artarmon turned up an additional 2kg of the drug.

The total haul carried an estimated street value of AUD$11million (£5.7million).

Both Ms McDaid and Mr Farrelly face two counts of supplying a prohibited drug - one exceeding an indictable quantity and another exceeding a commercial quantity.

The Scottish pair appeared before Manly Local Court, where bail was denied for both defendants.

They have been ordered to return to the Downing Centre Local Court on August 25.

NSWP allege the couple travelled to Australia with "the sole purpose of taking part in the distribution and supply of large commercial quantities of prohibited drugs".

The force confirmed that "further investigations into anyone else who may have been involved are underway".

The investigation began after locals alerted detectives to suspicious activity at a unit the pair had been renting.

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Police described the breakthrough as a combination of "good old-fashioned police work" from experienced detectives and the technical skills of younger officers, which enabled them to trace the suspected owner of abandoned luggage to a North Sydney hotel.

Photographs released by the authorities show the couple's rental vehicle loaded with bags of ketamine.

Further images depict large quantities of the drug stacked together after the seizure.

Prior to relocating to Australia, Ms McDaid had posted footage of herself at an airport with designer luggage, including a Chanel handbag and a Louis Vuitton holdall.

The video's caption read: "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."

Detective Acting Inspector Alison Dixon, the Acting Crime Manager for North Shore Police Area Command, warned that criminal networks are increasingly exploiting the rapid turnover of short-term rental properties to evade detection.

She said: "We have seen this before in short stays and encourage property owners to be wary. People staying in hotels and Airbnbs, we see a lot of illegal activities come and go through those places.

"Stuff out of the ordinary that doesn't look right... if it doesn't look right, it probably isn't."

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