Meth Smuggling
The meth were found hidden under the containers’ floorboards shipped to Bayswater in late June. Victoria Police

Five of the eight suspects in last week’s busting of a drug syndicate that led to a major haul are expected to appear before the Melbourne Magistrate Court on Tuesday. Three of them are facing commercial drug importation charges and five trafficking a commercial quantity of methamphetamine.

The illegal drugs, totaling 275 kilogrammes of ice, estimated to be worth $275 million, were discovered in three shipping containers from China delivered to an industrial estate in Melbourne, reports ABC. The meth were found hidden under the containers’ floorboards shipped to Bayswater in late June.

The raid by Customs agents, Australian federal police and Victoria police was the result of four months of investigation following a tip. The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission informed the Border Force that several high-risk containers are on their way to Australia from China.

Police raided properties in South Yarra, Braybrook, Bayswater, Brunswick, Box Hill and Glen Waverley, reports Skynews. They arrested members of the group, made up of a Malaysia and seven Australians aged 24 to 34 and filed charges against them.

Stephen Fontana, assistant commissioner of Victoria Police, says it is the biggest haul of meth in the state for 2016. He estimates the confiscation of 275 kilos of ice translates into more than 2 million shots of the illegal drug taken off the illegal drug trade.

Trojan Horse
The drugs were hidden inside a horse head sculpture encrusted with diamantes. New Zealand Police

But the big-time drug haul was not limited to Australia. In New Zealand, Mashable reports that drug dealers tried but failed a Trojan horse-style of smuggling 35 bricks of cocaine valued at US$10 million (A$13.3 million). The drugs were hidden inside a horse head sculpture encrusted with diamantes. The shipment came from Mexico in May, according to the New Zealand Police which announced the confiscation on Saturday.

They arrested a Mexican and a US national at the Auckland International Airport on Friday night. The next day another Mexican was arrested in Christchurch. All three are facing drug importation and possession charges.

VIDEO: 275 kilos of ice seized during massive drug rain in Victoria