Australia seizes drugs in Hong Kong furniture

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian police said on Friday that they had charged three men, one from China, after finding more than 70kg of the drug "ice" worth millions of dollars hidden in furniture from Hong Kong.

Authorities said they inspected a shipping container, listed on its paperwork as holding outdoor furniture, after it arrived in Sydney from Hong Kong, based on intelligence.

"X-rays and a physical unpack of the container located around 70 1kg packages secreted inside the framework of five lounges," Australian Federal Police said in a statement.

Police said the methamphetamine had an estimated street value of up to A$42 million (S$53.8 million) and added to the 14,000kg of illicit substances seized in the past year.