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SYDNEY, Australia – A huge cocaine haul was discovered following search warrants in a number of Sydney suburbs on Thursday, resulting in court appearances in Sydney on Friday.

Three men appeared in the Sydney Local Court court on Friday, following an Australian Federal Police investigation into alleged drug trafficking offences.

It all began with Operation Razorclaw, an investigation initiated in July 2018, after a number of men were suspected to be allegedly facilitating the importation of border controlled drugs.

As a result of extensive enquiries, the federal police located two men in Bringelly and a third man in Austral, NSW on Thursday.

The men, including a 31-year-old Maroubra man, a 39-year-old Croydon Park man and a 41-year-old Burwood man, were arrested and taken to the Australian Federal Police’s Sydney office for questioning.

Following the arrests, search warrants were executed in the Sydney suburbs of Austral, Bringelly, Burwood, Croydon Park and Maroubra.

During the search warrants, officers seized 60 kilograms of a substance suspected to be cocaine from a vehicle in Bringelly. The AFP says it will conduct further forensic examination to determine the exact purity of the substance and its country of origin.

Officers also seized a 9mm Beretta semi-automatic pistol at a residence in Croydon Park.

The 41-year-old Burwood man and the 31-year-old Maroubra man were charged with possessing commercial quantities of border controlled drugs reasonably suspected of having been unlawfully imported.

The 39-year-old Croydon Park man was charged with aid and abet possessing commercial quantities of border controlled drugs reasonably suspected of having been unlawfully imported.

The  drug offences carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and the firearms offence carries a maximum penalty of 14 years’ imprisonment. 

“Organised crime networks profit from the misery of others in the Australian community, causing the flow on effects of drug-related crime and the associated health and social costs,” Australian Federal Police acting Commander Krissy Barret, Manager Organised Crime, said Friday.

“This operation shows that police are keeping a watch on every corner and will continue to identify, arrest and prosecute those involved in this type of activity.”

The investigation remains ongoing and further arrests will not be ruled out,” she said.