A RECORD-BREAKING shipment of liquid methamphetamine, worth $1.6 billion, has been intercepted on its way to Australia in a shipping container.

The drugs were concealed in cartons of coconut water being shipped from Mexico to New South Wales via Hong Kong. It is understood x-ray technology revealed the drugs in the container on 23 October.

The shipment was identified based on intelligence developed by Australian Federal Police officers in Mexico and the Australian Department of Home Affairs.

Officers based in Mexico used their international network to alert AFP officers in Hong Kong that a suspicious consignment was on its way to Australia.

The AFP and Australian Border Force in Hong Kong worked with Hong Kong Customs and Excise to intercept the consignment when it reached Hong Kong.

The consignment amounted to 1.8 tonnes, making it the largest-ever meth bust in Hong Kong. Its wholesale value in Australia was $540 million.

AFP Detective Superintendent Patrick Gordon, the AFP’s senior officer in Mexico, said the meth could have been sold in around 18 million street level deals.

“The harsh reality is that Australia’s problem of illicit drug use is bankrolling a raft of dangerous and brutal cartels, triads and outlaw motorcycle gangs,” he said.

“These criminals undermine our national security and our economy.”

And Chris Gower, ABF Commander of International Operations, said the seizure was a reminder that Australian agencies have an intelligence net that extends across the globe.

“We will always co-operate and work closely with our international partners to block and seize illicit drug consignments, breaking the business model of criminals and preventing further harm in the Australian community,” Commander Gower said.

“This is a significant seizure and a tangible example of international cooperation through intelligence gathering that shares a common purpose, to outsmart criminal syndicates and their illicit drug operations.”

The AFP estimates it and its partners saved the community around $737 in drug-related harm, (including associated crime, healthcare and loss of productivity) by seizing the shipment.

Ongoing investigations are underway to identify the transnational serious organised criminals involved in the plot to smuggle the illicit drugs.