A haul of crystal methamphetamine worth an estimated $180 million has been found stuffed inside kayaks imported from China.
The drugs were found on Wednesday last week when Customs officials X-rayed 27 kayaks inside a shipping container in Sydney.
The inspection revealed 183kg of crystal meth had been stuffed into watertight areas inside the kayaks.
Australian Federal Police on Tuesday allowed the kayaks to be delivered to a Hillsdale self storage facility in Sydney's southeast where they arrested four Taiwanese nationals.
Three men, Meng-Chih Shih, 30, Zhao Xiung Huang, 35, and Chien Khih Kuo, 21, were charged with possessing a commercial quantity of drugs.
Court documents show the men resided in the same Sydney CBD address.
A woman, Chieh-Wei Lin, 28, from another Sydney CBD address, was charged with drug importation.
Police also charged Australian man David John Alton, 32, from Darlinghurst, with attempting to import the drugs.
Customs regional director Tim Fitzgerald said methamphetamine was a "significant problem" for border protection authorities and a large amount came from China.
In the past 14 months, authorities had found more than 1000kg of meth in liquid and crystal form and the biggest haul in recent times was a 565kg seizure in Melbourne.
"The syndicates obviously look at the markets where they can make money," Mr Fitzgerald told reporters in Sydney on Wednesday.
"When the Australian dollar (is) as it is, then obviously there's money to be made."
AFP Sydney manager Ray Johnson said people accused of drug hauls of the amount found in the kayaks could expect to face around 15 years in jail.
Immigration and Border Protection Minister Scott Morrison congratulated Customs for preventing the drugs from reaching the streets.
He said the federal government had provided $88 million of additional funding to Customs to increase screening of international mail, air cargo and sea cargo to stop illegal firearms and drugs getting in.
That would result in an additional 1500 containers being physically examined by Customs officers, he said.
All five accused appeared before Sydney's Central Local Court on Wednesday and had bail formally refused.
They are due to appear before the same court on April 9.
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