Almost $80million worth of MDMA has been found inside an excavator imported to Australia from the United Kingdom, prompting the arrest of five men across both countries.
Just under 450 kilograms of the drug - with an estimated street value of $79million - was found inside the heavy machinery.
Federal police on Wednesday raided four locations across western Sydney, arresting two men and seizing about $1.2million in cash.
An X-ray image of 448kg of MDMA hidden in two cavities within the arm of an excavator that was smuggled from the UK to Australia
A square of metal had been cut out from the excavator to allow smugglers to stash drugs inside of it
The raid locations were Blacktown, Mortlake, Homebush and Greystanes.
Another three men were arrested by British police in London.
An X-ray image of the excavator shows bags of MDMA were hidden in two cavities within the boom and stick sections of the excavator's arm.
Photos of the excavator's arm showed a square of metal had been cut out so smugglers could stash the drug inside.
The total contents of 'cavity 2' in the excavator. There were two cavities carrying 448kg of MDMA bags in the heavy machinery
Multiple bags of Australian notes, mainly $50 and $100 bills, were also seized during Friday morning's raids. In total, $1.2million was seized
Multiple bags of Australian notes, mainly $50 and $100 bills, were also seized during Friday morning's raids.
One of the bags was labelled 'Frog - 100', although it it not clear what this means.
The AFP also released a video of their detectives arresting a heavily tattooed man in an apartment building before taking him down to a car.
The AFP also released a video of their detectives arresting a heavily tattooed man in an apartment building before taking him down to a car
