The Drug Grannies | Too Old to Run | 02

The Drug Grannies | Too Old to Run | 02

From ABC Rewind by ABC Australia

March 3, 2026

About this episode

The episode recounts the story of two elderly American women whose holiday in Australia turns into a nightmare after they are caught with a large haul of black hashish.

In the summer of 1978, Australian narcotics agents intercepted a campervan being unloaded on the Melbourne docks. What they discovered inside the van turned out to be the largest haul of an illicit substance, black hashish, to land on Australian soil at the time. The campervan belonged to two elderly American women tourists, whose overseas holiday odyssey quickly spiralled into a hellish nightmare.

Topics covered

  • drug trafficking
  • 1970s history
  • Australian law enforcement
  • tourism
  • crime

Keywords

  • drug grannies
  • Australia
  • black hashish
  • 1978
  • narcotics agents
  • Melbourne docks
  • tourists
  • crime story

Mentioned in this episode

Products: black hashish

Places: Australia, Melbourne

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