DRUG BUST IN SYDNEY NETS HALF A TONNE OF ECSTASY

THREE men have been charged after police seized almost half a tonne of ecstasy worth $57 million before it hit Sydney’s streets.

The drugs were hidden inside four industrial meatmincing machines and smuggled into Australia from Turkey on a shipping container bound for Port Botany, police said.

The 248 packages were uncovered by Australian Border Force officers, who targeted the container for screening despite attempts to “disguise” it in a shipping list.

After switching out the drugs for a harmless substance, police tracked the delivery to an unsuspecting supermarket in Auburn on Friday where the mincing machines were allegedly removed and taken to an industrial butchery in Clyde.

On Saturday, police swooped, arresting three men. A 27-year-old was charged with importing a commercial quantity of MDMA while the two others were charged with attempting to possess a commercial quantity of MDMA.

Picture: AAP IMAGE Australian Border Force Investigations Acting Commander Garry Low, inset, announces the seizure of $57 million worth of MDMA in Sydney.