The accused were charged over the shipment of illicit drugs and chemicals contained in three shipping containers that arrived this month from the Chinese port of Ningbo. (Representational Image)
SYDNEY:
Australian authorities say they have seized large quantities of methamphetamine and ephedrine hidden in bar stools and soup mix packets shipped from China to Sydney.
Australian Federal Police Commander Chris Sheehan said today that four people had been arrested in Sydney on Thursday and charged over the shipment of illicit drugs and chemicals contained in three shipping containers that arrived this month from the Chinese port of Ningbo.
Customs officers found 159 kilograms (351 pounds) of methamphetamine worth an estimated 107 million Australian dollars ($75 million) in the backs of the bar stools. They found 340 kilograms (750 pounds) of ephedrine, an ingredient used to make methamphetamine, in the powdered soup packets.