Meth-soaked cow onesie: How an alleged smuggler tried to get drugs into Australia

Customs officials seized clothes that were soaked in a meth solution and allowed to dry, with more than one kilogram of the drug impregnated in the fabric.

As the bag containing methamphetamine-soaked cow pyjamas passed through X-ray machines, customs officers became suspicious and opened it for a closer look. Source: AFP / US Department of Justice

A would-be drug smuggler soaked a cow onesie in methamphetamine, part of a suitcase full of clothes he tried to sneak aboard a plane to Sydney, US justice officials said.

Raj Matharu checked in two bags at Los Angeles International Airport on a flight, the US Department of Justice said.

As the cases passed through X-ray machines, customs officers became suspicious and opened them up for a closer look.

The methamphetamine-soaked clothes were seized at Los Angeles International Airport. Source: AFP / US Department of Justice

The officers found more than a dozen items of clothing — including the cow onesie — that were dried stiff and covered in a white residue, according to the department.

Tests revealed the clothes had been soaked in a meth solution and allowed to dry, with the clothes weighing a total of just over 32kg.

Matharu was arrested on the jet bridge as he was preparing to board the plane.

"Drug dealers are continually inventing creative ways of smuggling dangerous narcotics in pursuit of illicit profit," said United States attorney Martin Estrada.

"In the process, they are poisoning communities throughout the world."

Matharu, 31, of Northridge, California, has been charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.