Australian officials in co-operation with authorities in Taiwan seized around 100 kg of heroin with a street value of at least €30 million, Justice Minister Chris Ellison said today.
The heroin was hidden in a shipping container of bags filled with sodium carbonate and was the biggest heroin haul in Australia since 378 kg of the drug was found in Brisbane in March 2001, Mr Ellison said in a statement.
"While the precise weight of the drugs is yet to be determined, it could represent one million hits with a street value of at least A$55 million," he said.
The heroin haul was made following a joint investigation by the Australian Federal Police, the Taiwan Ministry of Justice and Australian customs officials.
Police declined to comment on whether the drugs had been shipped from Taiwan or what the connection with Taiwan was. No arrests have been made.
In April, Australian police and special forces raided a North Korean freighter, the Pong Su, and arrested its 30-member crew on suspicion of smuggling 50 kg of heroin found in a car near the southern town of Lorne.
The following month, police found another 75 kg of the drug near Lorne, and said they suspected it also came from the Pong Su.