Australian police find 748kg of meth hidden in marble stone slabs

Three men have been charged in Australia for allegedly importing nearly 750 kilograms of methamphetamine hidden in marble stone slabs, police said on Thursday.

Australian Border Force (ABF) officers found 748 kilograms of methylamphetamine concealed within marble stone in sea cargo containers which had arrived Sydney from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last month.

The drug, also known as meth or ice, has an estimated potential street value of 675 million Australian dollars (468 million dollars), according to police.

New South Wales state police and the ABF said that two men in their 20s and one in his 30s were subsequently charged with importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug and also for taking part in the supply of a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug.

Police alleged the drugs were imported by a criminal syndicate.

"We will be alleging that the activities these men undertook both before and after the fact indicate they were well schooled in what they were doing and aware of the risks of law enforcement,'' New South Wales police's John Watson said.

"These syndicates have no regard for the safety of others and as we've seen it this week; use any means necessary to create illicit wealth and fund further criminal enterprises.''

"The seizure is a message to all organised crime groups, that it doesn't matter how sophisticated your concealment are, our ABF officers will find it,'' ABF Superintendent Joanne Yeats of Detained Goods Management, said.