Four people have allegedly tried to smuggle up to 17kg of heroin hidden in their suitcases into Australia.
The three Canadian nationals and one Dutch citizen have been charged after customs officers examined their bags when they arrived at Melbourne Airport on a flight from China on Monday.
The officers noticed the eight cases felt unusually heavy when emptied, with an X-ray showing a white powder built into the bottom of each bag, Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ACBPS) and Australian Federal Police said on Tuesday.
A 21-year-old man from the Netherlands, a 20-year-old Canadian man and two Canadian women, aged 19 and 17, have been charged with importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug, namely heroin.
ACBPS spokesman Dean Hogarth said the seizure was a significant one for Melbourne airport.
"This was a sophisticated operation, involving multiple people and numerous bags," he said in a statement.
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