Australia seizes $301m worth of drugs from China shipment

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian police said on Wednesday they had seized cocaine and methamphetamine worth A$237 million (S$301 million) shipped from China in a consignment of heavy machinery.

Two men, a 33-year-old American and a 34-year-old Canadian, were arrested in Sydney during the sting that recovered 350 kilogrammes of narcotics following a "complex and protracted" two-and-a-half-year investigation.

Police said they conducted a series of raids on five locations in the city over the weekend and recovered 235 kilogrammes of methamphetamine and 115 kilogrammes of cocaine stashed in a road roller.

"At one location police recovered the road roller as well as 13 sports bags inside it," Australian Federal Police Assistant Commissioner David Sharpe said.