The alleged head of a global drug syndicate has landed in Melbourne after being extradited from the Netherlands.
Canadian national Tse Chi Lop, 59, has been charged with conspiracy to traffic commercial quantities of controlled drugs.
Mr Tse did not apply for bail when he appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court, and was remanded in custody.
Australian Federal Police (AFP) Assistant Commissioner Krissy Barrett said the arrest "would be one of the most high-profile arrests in the history of the AFP".
"The AFP will allege the man was part of a conspiracy to traffic separate quantities of methamphetamine totalling 20 kilos between March 2012 and March 2013," she said.
Police will allege the drugs had a street value of up to $4.4 million in 2022 prices.
The AFP got an Interpol red notice — akin to a worldwide arrest warrant — before Dutch police arrested Mr Tse at Amsterdam's Schipol Airport in 2021.
"His arrest today is a culmination of a long-term AFP investigation into a trans-national organised crime syndicate called The Company, also known as the Sam Gor syndicate," Assistant Commissioner Barrett said.
She said the investigation took 10 years and involved a range of AFP teams.
Assistant Commissioner Barrett said Mr Tse was the co-accused of a Chinese-British national, who was extradited to Australia earlier this year.
Chung Chak Lee, 66, arrived in Melbourne from Thailand in June.
The AFP will allege in court that the two men conspired with junior syndicate members to transport millions of dollars worth of drugs between Melbourne and Sydney.
Officers will allege the syndicate was also involved in money laundering.
Assistant Commissioner Barrett said this was the 10th arrest in relation to the alleged syndicate.
She said the goal of AFP was to make Australia a "hostile place" for drug traffickers.
