More than six million cigarettes have been seized and five men face charges over an alleged tobacco smuggling ring in Sydney's southwest.
NSW Police and Australian Border Force officials also confiscated 22 boxes of tobacco and more than $350,000 in cash when they swooped on homes and businesses early on Tuesday morning.
The raids, which targeted properties in Cabramatta, Canley Heights, Fairfield and Marrickville, coincided with a culmination of another police operation that busted two inter-related drug syndicates operating across Australia, Dubai and the Netherlands.
That operation netted members of some of Sydney's most high-profile underworld families including the Ibrahims.
State crime command detectives first began investigating reports of an extortion racket involving the Rebels bikie gang in December last year.
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In late June, 11 men and two women were arrested over their alleged involvement in the large-scale importation of border-controlled drugs.
NSW Police only revealed details of what they found during the tobacco raids on Wednesday.
The five men arrested on Tuesday morning, aged between 26 and 59, face charges including smuggling tobacco, participating in a criminal group and dealing with the proceeds of crime.
Two will appear in Liverpool Local Court on Wednesday and the remaining three are expected to face the same court on August 28.
