Australian police make record ecstasy haul

A Canadian national and a Chinese man were remanded today after Australian police and customs officials found a record 500,000…

A Canadian national and a Chinese man were remanded today after Australian police and customs officials found a record 500,000 ecstasy tablets concealed inside tins of pineapple.

The ecstasy weighed a total of 125 kg.

The previous record Australian ecstasy haul was 105.5 kg (232.6 lbs) found in a shipment of French wine last December.

Police and customs found the drugs in a container shipment which arrived from the Chinese port of Huangpu.

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They also found heroin amounting to about 90,000 individual hits in the haul.

"It is the first time we've seen these quantities of (ecstasy) coming from a country that has traditionally not been considered a source for these drugs," Australian Customs spokesman Trevor Van Dam told reporters.

"...we are talking about significant quantities on a world scale."

Mr Lu Lu, a 42-year-old Chinese citizen, appeared in court and has been charged by police with importing a commercial quantity of heroin and ecstasy.

The other suspect, a 34-year-old Canadian, was charged by police with importation and possession of narcotics but has not been presented in court.

Both men have been denied bail and will appear in court on Monday.