A massive haul of the drug "ice" uncovered in marble stone at a Sydney port, worth $1.6 billion on the street, is the largest discovery of its kind in Australia.
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Last month, Australian Border Force officers homed in on a number of sea cargo containers that arrived at Port Botany in Sydney.
They found 748kg of methylamphetamine concealed in marble stone.
NSW Police strike force investigators later arrested and charged three men, aged 24, 26 and 34.
Last week, an examination of more containers at Port Botany found a further 1060kg of methylamphetamine also concealed in marble stone.
The total haul was more than 1800kg and is the largest seizure of the drug in Australia, NSW Police Detective Acting Chief Superintendent John Watson said on Friday.
"There is no question methamphetamine or ice is an insidious drug," he told reporters.
"It rips apart people's lives, families and local communities.
"This type of amount has the potential to absolutely devastate rural or regional areas, and it has the potential to be distributed right across our nation."
The estimated potential street value of the ice seized was more than $1.6 billion.
It is the first time authorities have found drugs concealed in a marble stone shipment, Australian Border Force Assistant Commissioner Erin Dale said.
No one has been charged over the latest shipment, although police believe an international drug syndicate is behind it and that the drugs could have come from the Middle East.
"What we're seeing now is the syndicate that was operating locally on our shores, they had international connections, so we're looking well to that," Det Watson said.
"We don't know how long they've been operating for, but it is certainly a line of inquiry that we're keen to understand."
Australian Associated Press
