THREE men have been jailed in relation to 55 kilograms of cocaine found inside a plasma cutting machine in June last year.

Operation Neem was a joint Australian Federal Police and Australian Border Force investigation into a shipment of cocaine from India to Port Botany.

Three men aged 46, 50 and 53 years old were arrested.

The two men aged 50 and 46 have since pleaded guilty to attempting to possess a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported and border-controlled substance, while the 53-year-old pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting. 

The three men were sentenced at the Downing Centre Court on 17 September.

The 46-year-old Rouse Hill man was sentenced to nine years and 10 months jail, with a non-parole period of five years and 10 months to finish on 24 May 2025.

The 50-year-old Kellyville man was sentenced to eight years and three months imprisonment, with a non-parole period of four years and 11 months to finish on 24 June 2024.

The 53-year-old Arcadia man was sentenced to six years imprisonment, with a non-parole period of three years and seven months to finish on 24 February 2023.