Australian police seize drugs worth up to £335m

Australian police have seized 558 kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine and heroin (Getty Images)

Australian police have seized 558 kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine and heroin with a street value of up to £335m smuggled into the country in a shipment of terracotta pots.

Australian Federal Police say four Hong Kong nationals and three Australians were arrested in Sydney yesterday. Each faces a potential life sentence if convicted on drug charges.

Police said today that the 306 kilogrammes of crystal meth — or ice — is the largest seizure of the drug in Australia. The 252 kilogrammes of heroin is the third-largest haul of its kind.

The US Drug Enforcement Administration alerted Australian authorities to the plot last August. Police will not say where the drugs came from.