Chinese man, 29, accused of importing $106MILLION worth of ice into Australia suddenly vanishes despite wearing an ankle bracelet to track his movements
- An accused drug smuggler has fallen off police radar, despite wearing a device
- Xu Lin, 29, was arrested for his role in attempting to import meth and ephedrine
- Australian Federal Police found the drugs in bar stools and packets of soup mix
- Lin was bailed under very strict conditions, with a surety of more than $1million
A man who allegedly played a role in importing ice worth $106million into Australia has fallen off the police radar - despite wearing an electronic monitoring device.
Xu Lin, 29, was one of four people arrested in January 2016 for allegedly trying to import methamphetamine and its drug precursor ephedrine into Australia.
Australian Federal Police discovered the drugs, which were hidden in bar stools and small packets of soup mix, in three freight containers that arrived from China.
Xu Lin, 29, (pictured) was one of four people arrested in January 2016 for allegedly trying to import methamphetamine and its drug precursor ephedrine into Australia
Australian Federal Police discovered the drugs, which were hidden in bar stools and small packets of soup mix (pictured), in three freight containers that arrived from China
Lin was arrested at Narwee, in Sydney's southwest, on January 21, 2016, and charged with attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug.
He was subsequently bailed under very strict conditions, which included wearing an electronic monitoring device, with a surety of more than $1million.
As part of his bail conditions, he was supposed to report to Campsie Police Station, but vanished between May 6 and May 15, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The device Lin was wearing is designed to send a message to a central monitoring system if its wearer commits a violation, which then notifies relevant authorities.
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The alerts are not monitored by humans but rather a computer, and its alleged a number of emails had been sent to an AFP email addresses before Lin went missing.
Several violation emails were allegedly sent to an AFP officer who was on leave at the time, which suggested the messages weren't seen for a number of days.
Global security firm Attenti has supplied the devices for 25 years, but Lin's disappearance has raised questions about the efficacy of the technology used.
Attenti's regional vice president David Tombs disputed the claims, saying in the case of Mr Lin, the electronic monitoring device worked as it should under the design.
Lin (pictured) was arrested at Narwee, in Sydney's southwest, on January 21, 2016, and charged with attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug
He said the system automatically reports violations as they occur in the form of alerts via the designated contact email address provided to Attenti by AFP.
'Attenti has no control, or knowledge of, what actions the AFP took in relation to any alerts,' Mr Tombs said.
The vice president also confirmed the company had given evidence to an enquiry by the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions.
Prosecutor for the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions Karthikeyan Kanagasabapathy said Lin's case provides evidence of the device's shortcomings.
During a cross-examination of Attenti's business development manager for Australia Philipp Schluter, Mr Kanagasabapathy described areas where the device could fail.
The drugs (pictured) seized by the AFP had a potential street value of more than $100 million
Some of the drugs (pictured) that were found in the stools, which were transported to Australia from China
One flaw in the technology was how the wearer could potentially remove the tracker if they were in an area 'without a signal' such as a car park or a basement, he said.
Mr Schluter also confirmed if the wearer removed the device in an area without cellular signal, no automated message would be sent to the related authority.
According to the publication, NSW Police have also previously reported concerns regarding the capability of the Attenti monitoring devices.
An AFP spokesman declined to comment on the Attenti device, but confirmed it has undertaken a number of enquiries in an attempt to locate Mr Lin.
'The AFP obtained a warrant for his arrest for breaching his bail conditions on 28 May, 2018. The warrant will enable his arrest anywhere in Australia,' the AFP spokesperson said.
Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Attenti for comment.
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