Two Malaysian men have been arrested in a massive heroin seizure in Sydney by a joint law enforcement taskforce, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said today.

In the early hours of this morning, the Joint Organised Crime Group (JOCG) which comprises the AFP, New South Wales (NSW) Police Force, Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) and the NSW Crime Commission, executed a number of search warrants in Sydney and arrested two Malaysian nationals, Xinhua news agency reported the AFP as saying in a statement.

The men, aged 34 and 30, are scheduled to appear in Sydney Local Court today, charged with the importation of 42 kg of heroin carefully secreted in a shipment of furniture.

A Customs examination of a container that arrived in Sydney in early May via sea cargo from Malaysia, detected 145 packets of heroin concealed in eight pieces of furniture, the AFP said.

“This is the largest seizure we’ve had for some time. Most of the seizures over the last decade have been smaller quantities. The last large seizure was actually in 2002 and that was 367 kilos,” Customs spokesperson Catherine Asbridge said.

The seized heroin has an estimated street-value of $A49 million, the AFP said.

The ongoing investigation, in conjunction with the Royal Malaysia Police, began in late April.

AFP Manager Sydney Office, Commander Brian McDonald, said, “Australian law enforcement is more united than ever in the fight against organised crime, and multi jurisdictional, multi skilled teams are now operating across the country targeting organised crime syndicates operating within our country.”

NSW Police Force Detective Chief Superintendent Mal Lanyon said the organisation was committed to working with partner agencies to target border controlled drugs.

- Bernama