$900m worth of meth hidden in bra inserts seized

Australian police seized approximately $900 million worth of methamphetamine, known on the streets as ice, some concealed in inserts for bras, in one of the country's biggest drug busts, authorities said on Monday.

Four Chinese nationals, three of them from Hong Kong, were arrested during the joint operation with China, which Justice Minister Michael Keenan described as the largest seizure of liquid methamphetamine in Australia's history.

"This has resulted in 3.6 million individual hits of ice being taken off our streets with a street value of A$1.26 billion ($900 billion)," he said.

"This largest seizure of liquid methamphetamine to date is the result of organized criminals, targeting the lucrative Australian ice market from offshore."

Australian Federal Police Commander Chris Sheehan said the operation began in December when the Australian Border Force examined a shipping container out of Hong Kong in Sydney. It originated in China.

"That shipping container was found to contain gel bra inserts and hidden inside those gel bra inserts was 190 liters of liquid methamphetamine," he said.

The seizure was referred to the Australian Federal Police who began an investigation which traced an additional 530 liters of liquid methamphetamine to five storage units in Sydney where they were found inside art supplies.

In January, a 33-year-old Hong Kong man was arrested and charged in connection with the original seizure.

Another two Hong Kongers, a man, 37, and a 52-year-old woman, along with another man from the Chinese mainland, 59, were also seized and charged with knowingly taking part in the manufacture and distribution of a commercial quantity of a prohibited drug.

"We are alleging that the people we have arrested weren't just mere bit-players, they were significant players within this criminal network," said Sheehan, adding that they all face life sentences in prison if convicted.

The sting was part of Taskforce Blaze, a rare joint operation established in November between the Australian Federal Police and the Chinese National Narcotics Control Commission - the first joint effort between the two targeting the booming ice market.

The two sides have been working together to gather intelligence relating to concealment methods, trafficking routes and syndicates facilitating methamphetamine imports from Southeast China into Australia.

AFP - Reuters