Australia seizes $760M of 'ice' in its largest-ever bust

Australia has seized more than $760 million worth of methamphetamine in its biggest-ever bust of the highly-addictive drug, police said on Friday.

Commonly known as "ice", the 1.2 tonne haul was intercepted after being offloaded from a boat, the Valkoista, which authorities believe came from China.

A press release issued by a combination of five law enforcement agencies, including the Australian Federal Police, said the seizure surpassed the previous record meth bust, a 903-kilogram haul in Melbourne early this year.

It is also the largest drug bust of any kind in Western Australia, the country's largest state, which has some 13,000 kilometres (8,000 miles) of coastline.

Eight men, all Australian, were charged with either importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug, or possessing a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug, and face life in jail.

The seizure capped a six-month investigation with Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner Leanne Close alleging the ringleaders had been taken out.

"It equates to probably about $760 million of border controlled drugs that are no longer going to be on the streets of Australia over the Christmas period," she said.

"Police will allege in court these men intended to distribute the drugs along the east coast of Australia."

An Australian Crime Commission report in 2015 found that while $80 bought one gram of ice in China, the estimated 270,000 users in Australia had to pay $500 for the same amount.

The kitchen

Australia has identified China and India as key sources of the precursor chemicals needed to make ice, while China and Myanmar were notable manufacturers of the end product.

Photos of the raid released by Australian Federal Police showed the van stuffed with large sacks that were stamped with Chinese characters for animal feed.

In recent years law enforcement agencies across Asia keep making record busts but the seizures appear to have little effect on the sheer amount of ice hitting the streets.

In September, Canberra announced a new strategy to tackle the menace, involving reinforcing information-sharing arrangements with Interpol and Europol to better pinpoint organised crime groups.

It is also working more closely with counterpart law enforcement agencies in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Mekong region of Southeast Asia to smash syndicates and follow money trails.