Police in Australia found $5oo million dollars worth of crystal methamphetamine and herion hidden in a shipment of terracotta pots from Thailand on Monday.
Following a tip from the US Drug Enforcement Administration, three Australian residents and four Hong Kong nationals were arrested in raids in Sydney.
"I think we've got a good combination of the people responsible for this importation," Commissioner Andrew Colvin told reporters.
The drugs included 306kg of crystal methamphetamine, also known as "ice," and 252 kg of heroin that were found in a shipment of 3,200 terracotta pots at Sydney's Port Botany. The drugs were concealed in hundreds of foil wrapped packages inside of the pots.
"The actual concealment itself wasn't particularly sophisticated," said Mike Pezzulo from Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, according to CNN. "Terra cotta pots concealed in bulk on pallets within cardboard boxes and then shrink-wrapped."
The people who are allegedly involved and arrested were charged on Tuesday for "conspiracy to import illicit drugs and holding a commercial quantity of illicit drugs," with a maximum sentence of life in jail. The suspects are in custody until October 17.
Jason Clare, the home affairs minister said that the bust was a major breakthrough and that the two separate drugs are generally found in different source countries.
The individuals who were arrested are at a huge age range from 29 to 61. The 252 kilograms or 556 pounds of heroin is the third-largest haul of its kind in the nation and the first of crystal meth.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
