Two men have been charged after more than 20 kilograms of opium was found inside an air cargo container from Azerbaijan.
A cargo declaration said an iron boiler was inside the container, but Australian Border Force officers instead allegedly found 20 bags of opium at the Sydney freight depot. The drugs had an estimated street value of more than $3.4 million.
NSW Police seized the consignment and investigations led them to houses in Merrylands and Smithfield, as well as a Wentworthville storage facility.
Searches of those properties allegedly uncovered a 300-gram heroin stash, with an estimated street value of $150,000.
Police also seized documents from a unit in Pendle Hill.
Three men, aged 40, 45 and 61, were arrested during a vehicle stop in Sydenham last Friday.
The 40-year-old, from Pendle Hill, and the 61-year-old, from Merrylands, were each charged with importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.
They have been held in custody to front Central Local Court on January 20.
Police have released the 45-year-old man.
