A teenage boy and three men have been charged over a drug bust involving 230 kilograms of methamphetamine hidden in an industrial-sized pulley imported from China.
The pulley arrived in Sydney on April 29 and was delivered to a workshop at Wetherill Park, in the city's west, on May 5.
The Australian Federal Police said the four people were arrested the next day while using power tools to try to retrieve a substance that had been substituted for the meth and concealed in the machinery.
A Glenmore Park man, 35, a Woy Woy man, 23, a Saint Hubert's Island man, 21, and a Penrith boy, 17 were charged with being part of a criminal syndicate.
The offence carries a maximum penalty of life in jail if they are convicted.
The men were remanded in custody to appear in Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday.
AFP Commander John Tanti said police were dedicated to targeting illicit drug importations.
"Had these drugs reached our communities, countless lives would have been impacted - inflicting a high social cost through crime, including the loss of life, increased healthcare and justice costs and loss of productivity," he said.
"Transnational organised crime does not respect borders, but the AFP has repeatedly demonstrated it can thrive in a borderless environment to protect the Australian community."
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