SYDNEY, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- Australian authorities charged a 40-year-old woman after 15 kg of methamphetamine was located in her luggage at Sydney Airport on Friday.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Australian Border Force (ABF) said in a joint statement on Saturday that the woman was stopped for a routine examination upon her arrival at the airport.

During the examination, ABF officers allegedly found 18 vacuum-sealed bags labelled as "tea" and containing a clear crystalline substance in the woman's luggage. Presumptive testing of the substance returned a positive result for methamphetamine, with an estimated weight of 15 kg.

ABF handed over the matter to AFP officers, who arrested the woman and seized the illicit drugs. The seizure had an estimated street value of more than 13 million Australian dollars (about 8.73 million U.S. dollars) and could have amounted to about 150,000 individual street deals.

The woman was charged with one count of importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug. This offence carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, according to the joint statement. ■