TWO men were arrested in Melbourne on Saturday after authorities seized more than 300 kilograms of liquid MDMA hidden in an air freight consignment of French wine bottles.

The investigation was launched in late September after Australian Border Force officers examined a shipment of wine bottles labelled as 2016 Bordeaux, sent from France.

Officers identified a viscous liquid inside 270 of the bottles, and subsequent forensic testing allegedly confirmed the presence of liquid MDMA worth tens of millions of dollars.

The drugs were removed and investigators from the Victoria Joint Organised Crime Taskforce (JOCTF) tracked the consignment as it was delivered to a self-storage facility on 5 October.

The JOCTF comprises the ABF, Australian Federal Police, Victoria Police and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission.

JOCTF detectives arrested a 25-year-old man from Roxburgh Park and a 21-year-old man from Cranbourne after the Cranbourne man was allegedly identified checking the consignment.

Police executed search warrants at three properties in Roxburgh Park, Cranbourne and Hallam on 8 October and seized various items, including wine bottles.

AFP Detective Inspector Mark McKiernan said organised crime syndicates use a variety of methods to attempt to smuggle large amounts of illicit drugs into Australia undetected.

“The AFP is working closely with our partners to disrupt these criminal supply chains and intercept illicit drugs before they can cause harm in the community,” he said.

“We have also stopped those involved in the plot from accessing the millions of dollars in potential profits, which could have been used to fund future drug trafficking or other criminal ventures.

“The AFP will use its international network to identify those involved offshore, as well as the local members of this criminal syndicate.”

Victoria Police Detective Inspector Dan Ryan said the police are determined to make the state a hostile place for criminals engaged in the importation and manufacture of drugs.

“To be able to make these arrests and seizures highlights the continued local demand there is for a range of drugs,” he said.

“Ultimately, we really need to challenge attitudes around the use of illicit drugs in the community.

“We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure those who bring harm to our state are held to account, and that these criminal syndicates are strongly and deliberately targeted.”

And ABF Superintendent Aviation Goods Tori Rosemond said the expert knowledge of border officers is resulting in major disruptions to the supply of drugs into the community.

“No matter how well criminal actors think they hide these types of drugs, ABF officers have the technical expertise and valuable intelligence information, and will stop them at the border,” she said.

“I am extremely proud of my team for this detection and exemplifying what it means to protect our borders.

“We continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure we keep the Australian community safe from the importation of dangerous drugs.”

It is understood the two men arrested faced Melbourne Magistrates Court on Sunday, charged with the attempted possession of a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border controlled drug.

The potential maximum penalty is life imprisonment.

Inquiries are ongoing to identify everyone involved in the attempted importation.