A British actress with credits in an EastEnders spin-off and a Jason Statham film is at the center of one of Australia’s biggest recent drug busts – and now faces the possibility of spending the rest of her life behind bars.

Emaa Hussen, 34, has been charged with attempting to smuggle methamphetamine into Australia, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of life in prison if she’s convicted.

The case traces back to April, when a shipment arrived at Sydney’s Port Botany from Ghana. On paper, the two shipping containers were declared as carrying charcoal.

Border officials flagged the cargo after X-ray scans showed something was off. When inspectors took a closer look, they allegedly found a white crystalline substance hidden inside bags of charcoal. Testing confirmed it was meth, according to Tyla.

Emaa Hussen could face life in prison
In total, authorities say the containers held around 320 kilograms of methamphetamine, with a street value of roughly A$296 million, according to Tyla.

Rather than seize the shipment outright, investigators removed the suspected drugs and let the containers move on to a storage facility in Girraween, a suburb in western Sydney. It was a calculated move, and it paid off.

Hussen allegedly showed up at the facility herself, where police claim she directed a group of men as they unloaded the containers. Several bags were then loaded into a vehicle and transported to a home in Blacktown, where Hussen was arrested. Investigators also seized electronic devices and a notebook during the operation. As reported by the BBC, Hussen appeared in a Sydney court on Thursday. She had already been denied bail and is set to return to court in August.

Praised officers involved
Hussen may be familiar to British TV viewers as Naz in EastEnders: E20, a spin-off of the soap opera that launched in 2010. She also appeared in the 2013 Jason Statham action thriller Hummingbird, released in the US as Redemption.

Australian Federal Police Det Acting Supt Trevor Robinson said: “The seizure of these drugs — with an estimated street value of $296 million — has prevented a potential 3.2 million deals from reaching Australian streets,” according to Tyla.

Australian Border Force Supt Jared Leighton also weighed in, crediting his officers for seeing through the concealment method: “Criminal syndicates will go to great lengths to disguise illicit drugs, including embedding them in everyday goods like charcoal, but our highly skilled officers are trained to see beyond these attempts.”