Five men are accused of involvement in importing $15 million worth of methamphetamine after a plane from Papua New Guinea was intercepted in rural Queensland.
The drugs arrived on a so-called black flight, where a light aircraft flies at a very low altitude or turns off monitoring systems to avoid detection.
Australian Federal Police allege the men are transnational serious organised crime members who handled practical arrangements to import 52 kilograms of meth.
"These men have not only allegedly imported a dangerous drug but flying at a low altitude without proper monitoring systems poses a huge safety risk to other aircraft and to emergency services members in the event of an incident," AFP Assistant Commissioner Stephen Dametto said.
Authorities believe the plane had been on-route to NSW and had stopped in the central Queensland town of Monto to re-fuel.
Three of those charged provided ground support for the flight and had staged themselves in Queensland since February, police allege.
The other two men were allegedly the pilots.
Police believe the 51 and 52-year-old men flew a twin-engine Beechcraft plane from Wilton south of Sydney to the town of Bulolo in PNG, more than 250 kilometres northwest of the capital Port Moresby.
It's alleged the men collected the meth before returning to an airstrip in Monto where they were intercepted.
They flew at a low altitude with the transponder turned off in an effort to avoid radar detection, police say.
Officers raided four homes and businesses in NSW and found firearm parts, drug paraphernalia and documents referencing aircraft parts and travel to PNG.
Four of the five men appeared in the Bundaberg Magistrates Court on Wednesday and one is scheduled to appear on Thursday.
Investigations into how the drugs originally entered PNG are ongoing.
