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Australian cops make large drug bust

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Published: Nov. 21, 2012 at 3:39 PM

SYDNEY, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Australian police said they have seized $346 million in drugs from China being smuggled into the country inside a steamroller.

An American and a Canadian whose identities were not released are in custody after police in Sydney said they broke up an international smuggling ring following a "complex and protracted" investigation that spanned 2 1/2 years.

The haul included 520 pounds of methamphetamine worth $180.2 million and nearly 250 pounds of cocaine worth $65 million hidden inside a steamroller that had been stowed in a storage locker, CNN said Wednesday.

The seizure comes a week after police found $120 million in cocaine aboard a yacht arriving from Tonga that had run aground on one of Australia's northern outlying islands. The two busts were not believed to be related.

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