Australian authorities have seized thousands of meth-filled lemonade bottles, worth $156 million, while busting a drug syndicate and arresting six men.
Australian Federal Police (AFP) say the Columbian-Australian drug operation used 20,000 bottles of fizzy drink brand Splash Drinks to hide 230kg of methylamphetamine.
The syndicate also hid cocaine in tonnes of fresh flowers in an alleged attempt to smuggle the drugs into Sydney.
The bust was the result of an eight-month investigation under Strike Force Polaris involving the AFP and Australian Customs and Border Protection Service.
Five Australian men and a Colombian national living here were arrested and faced court in Sydney on Wednesday.
AFP Superintendent Mick Calatzis said the arrests were significant.
"We have cut the head of the snake, these are the key individuals involved in this investigation," he said on Thursday.
In total, nearly half a tonne of drugs were seized - more than 250kg of cocaine and 230kg of liquid methylamphetamine, the AFP said on Thursday.
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