Smuggling of $123m worth of liquid meth into Victoria in mustard bottles thwarted by Border Force

It is the largest seized importation of liquid methamphetamine in Victorian history and the second largest nationally.

After it was discovered, crime scene specialists from the Australian Federal Police conducted forensic testing on the consignment and confirmed the two pallets contained liquid methamphetamine with an estimated street value of more than $123 million.

Four dual Vietnamese nationals who are allegedly part of a criminal syndicate were arrested on Friday morning.

A 29-year old Sunshine man was arrested at a Campbellfield home, a 28-year-old St Albans man was arrested at his home, and a 34-year-old man and a 34-year-old woman were arrested at their Albion property.

At the Albion property, investigators seized several kilograms of suspected illicit drugs believed to be heroin and methamphetamine.

Raids were conducted throughout Friday in St Albans, Sunshine and Sunshine North, and at commercial properties in Parkville and Sunshine.

A clandestine laboratory allegedly linked to the criminal syndicate was also discovered in St Albans on Friday. The scene was secured before a search warrant was executed on Sunday.

Police are expecting to make more arrests as the investigation continues.

The four people allegedly linked to the syndicate have been charged. They faced Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday night and will appear again on Tuesday.

The 29-year-old Sunshine man was been charged with importing commercial quantities of border-controlled drugs and attempted possession of border-controlled drugs.

The 34-year-old Albion man and the 28-year-old St Albans man have both been charged with attempting to possess commercial quantities of border-controlled drugs.

The 34-year-old Albion woman is facing a charge of possession of a commercial quantity of border-controlled drugs.

Victoria Police Crime Command Assistant Commissioner Bob Hill said the arrests would help to prevent the “immense harm that serious and organised crime groups, regardless of where they are based across the world, wreak locally”.

“We have dismantled an international crime syndicate. We have severed the head of the snake,” he said.

“We know of the harm that’s caused in rural Victoria, in metro Melbourne [by illegal drugs]. We know the pain and misery that is suffered at an individual level, a family level and a community level.”

He said that wastewater analysis shows that those in Shepparton have the highest use of meth in the country.

“We know illicit drugs enable other crime and cause family violence, result in road trauma, perpetuate general crime and high-impact, high-harm crime. We, as a joined-up approach with three agencies … continue to pursue our endeavours to keep the Victorian community safe.”

Australian Border Force Assistant Commissioner Phil Brezzo said sophisticated targeting methodologies and “officer intuition” had led to the mustard bottle discovery.

“Any attempt to conceal illicit drugs across Australian borders is sneaky. There are varying levels of sophistication and this one is sort of up there,” he said.

“Border Force have seen everything, all manner of different concealments … I don’t know if we have seen mustard bottles before, we have seen most types of bottles, most types of jars and everything else you can imagine.”