MELBOURNE, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Four men have been arrested after the Australian Border Force (ABF) took down a large methamphetamine syndicate on Friday.
The four men, three of whom are from Victoria, were arrested after a six-month investigation by the ABF found they were smuggling chemicals used to manufacture methamphetamine, also known as ice, into Australia.
It is alleged that the men worked with an international gang of organized criminals to import enough ephedrine to produce 45 million U.S. dollars of ice.
ABF officers in Victoria and New South Wales (NSW) carried out raids on a series of properties in the two states on Friday morning where the four men were arrested and 65 kilograms of ephedrine seized.
"Seizing this ephedrine is an important step in helping decrease the domestic manufacture and supply of ice," Wayne Buchhorn, ABF assistant commisoner, told reporters in Melbourne on Friday.
"Countless lives would have been affected by this precursor had it reached the streets of Australia, whether it be users, healthcare workers or families that have been torn apart by illicit drug use."
The three Victorian men, aged 23, 25 and 21, were charged with illegally importing the substance and face up to five years' imprisonment while the NSW man, 26, could be locked up for 25 years after being charged with importing commercial quantities of a controlled substance.
Roman Quaedvlieg, ABF Commissioner, warned that more ice was being produced in Australia than ever before.
"We started seeing that market change where (before) it was almost all finished product," Quaedvlieg told reporters.
"But we started to see an increase in precursors coming into play. When you see that you know there is domestic manufacturing going on.
"That trend has continued, in fact the ratio of precursors has increased compared to finished product from overseas."
