Two Singaporeans, Australian charged over heroin haul in Sydney

SYDNEY (AFP) - Two Singaporeans and a local man were charged in Australia on Friday with trafficking some 4.5kg of heroin, an offence that carries a maximum jail term of life imprisonment.

Australian Federal Police searched a vehicle in the beachside Sydney suburb of Coogee early on Friday and found about 1.5 kilograms of a substance believed to be heroin. They swooped on a nearby serviced apartment and found another 3kg of the drug and A$10,000 (S$12,700) in cash.

The finds led to the arrest of a 54-year-old Queensland man and two Singaporeans.

"All three men have been charged with trafficking commercial quantities of a border controlled drug, namely heroin," police said in a statement.