Couple charged over Sydney ketamine raid face new gang charges

An Edinburgh couple charged over drug offences in Australia after 107kg of ketamine was seized have now also been charged with being part of a criminal gang.

Demi McDaid, 23, and her partner Jack Farrelly, 30, were arrested in a Sydney hotel at the end of June after police found 105kg of the drug in a car parked at the accommodation.

They appeared before Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court where they were both charged with one count of participating in a criminal group contributing to criminal activity.

They already face charges of supplying a prohibited drug and supplying a prohibited drug in a large commercial quantity. Neither McDaid nor Farrelly has entered a plea.

Police said mobile phones, 2,000 Australian dollars (£1,060) in cash, and documents described by officers as drug ledgers were also seized at the hotel.

Detectives had earlier 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 have claimed the couple 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."