Two Taiwanese men have been arrested in their home country over a potential plot to import 100kg of ice into Australia.
The bust is linked to Operation Ironside, a multi-national police campaign which saw authorities sell drug dealers tapped phones.
Australian Federal Police caught wind of the plot after one of the men was caught in the crosshairs of Operation Ironside.
Assistant Commissioner Pryce Scanlan said the man, 33, was trying to bring 100kg of ice into the country.
"We suspect they were operating long before we started monitoring them and were involved in multiple other drug trafficking plots targeting Australia," Asst. Comm. Scanlan said.
Federal police, working with the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and international agencies, intercepted the drugs in the United States before they arrived in Australia.
They then passed on intelligence to the Taiwan Criminal Investigation Bureau who arrested the 33-year-old in July. He was already wanted under a Taiwanese arrest warrant for another drug offence.
Further investigation by Australian and Taiwanese agencies saw a second arrest of the 36-year-old, believed to be the younger man's right hand man.
Both have been charged under Taiwanese law over plans to bring 30kg - or $45 million worth - of ice into Australia and are facing life imprisonment if convicted.
The men's syndicate is believed to be involved in large drug imports into Western Australia.
"This organised crime group has caused significant harm to the Australian community for a number of years, as well as causing harm offshore," Asst. Comm. Scanlan said.
