Six men have been charged over what Australian police said Saturday was one of the largest drug busts in the country’s history, worth up to Aus$1.5 billion (US$1.28 billion).

Australian Federal Police said the men were charged over their involvement in the attempted importation of almost three tonnes of MDMA and crystal methamphetamine, also known as ice, into Sydney.

Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione and AFP Commissioner Andrew Colvin with a quarter of the drugs seized in the operation. Photo: Daniel Munoz of Sydney Morning Herald

Police will allege that the drugs, detected by Customs officers, were hidden in a container shipped from Germany which had been filled with furniture and unmarked boxes.

“This seizure represents the second largest seizure in Australian history, which proves law enforcement agencies are working harder than ever to keep drugs out of our community,” said commissioner Andrew Colvin.

Authorities said after the drugs were discovered, police allowed the shipment to be delivered to an address in western Sydney. They arrested the six men, all Australian residents, as they accessed the boxes.

According to Sydney Morning Herald, the seized drugs included 1917 kilograms of MDMA (ecstasy) and 849 kilograms of methamphetamine (ice). It was the single largest seizure of ice in the nation’s history, NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said.

Two tonnes of MDMA was enough to supply 10 million individual ecstasy tablets, he said.

The narcotics were shipped to Australia from Hamburg, Germany, in a single consignment and arrived on November 19, police alleged. Delivery of the container was tracked, first to Blacktown and then to Smithfield, both in western Sydney.

“The importation of these substances into the community is being orchestrated by serious and organised crime groups,” said Australian Customs and Border Protection Service chief executive Roman Quaedvlieg.

The six men, who range in age from 23 to 34, have all been charged with attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug.

The charges attract a possible penalty of life imprisonment, police said.