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Australia busts drug ring

July 31, 2012

Australian police have seized record quantities of crystal methamphetamine and heroin following a probe into an international drug ring. Seven people have been arrested in connection with the raid.

https://p.dw.com/p/15gui
Two terracotta pots full of the illicit drug known as ice are seen in Sydney
Image: Reuters

Four Hong Kong nationals and three Australian residents were among those arrested, Australian police said on Tuesday.

Police said the suspects were arrested on Monday after more than half a ton of drugs was found hidden in a shipment of terracotta pots in a warehouse in inner-city Sydney.

The 306 kilograms of methamphetamine, also known as 'ice,' was Australia's biggest seizure of the drug, while the 252 kilogram of heroin was the nation's third largest-haul of heroin. Altogether the drugs were valued to have been worth some AUS$500 million ($525 million, 428 million euros).

The raid followed a tip-off from the US Drug Enforcement Administration and was the culmination of a year-long investigation into the Hong Kong based syndicate.

"This was an 11-month investigation where we've had tight control over a number of people who we suspected of being involved in illicit narcotic importations," said Deputy Police Commissioner Andrew Colvin.

"This has prevented half a billion dollars of drugs reaching Australian streets."

He added that further arrests were possible.

ccp/ipj (AFP, dpa)