Drug bust one of biggest

AN ENDEAVOUR Hills man was among five people arrested last week in one of the country’s biggest police seizures of ecstasy.
The 31-year-old Pakistani national was arrested on Friday morning following a joint operation between the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and a Customs operation spanning New South Wales and Victoria.
Raids were carried out in Endeavour Hills, Dandenong, Clayton, the CBD, Carlton, Blackburn and Glen Waverley when the AFP executed 11 simultaneous search warrants.
A Blackburn man was also arrested and later charged with importing and aiding and abetting the importation of a prohibited substance. The Endeavour Hills man was released without charge and is assisting police with their inquiries.
About 1.2 million ecstasy tablets weighing a total of 350 kilograms and with an estimated street value of $40 million were uncovered during the joint operation.
The haul is believed to be the second- largest seizure of the prohibited drug in Victoria and one of the largest in Australian history.
Three more men were arrested in Sydney last Thursday.
An AFP spokesperson said the container containing the drugs arrived from Canada via Hong Kong on 4 June and was selected by customs officers for inspection at its Port Melbourne facility where it was X-rayed and then unpacked.
Plastic containers filled with liquid were uncovered and upon closer inspection customs officers found more than 1.2 million tablets in 67 of the 180 containers of ink.
Authorities then replaced the drugs with fakes and monitored the delivery to an address in Clayton.
There, the boxes were unloaded and transferred to Sydney before being taken to a home in Yagoona, Sydney, last Thursday.
AFP national manager border and international network Mike Phelan said the arrests had disrupted a major drug supply, importation and distribution network.