Australian police have broken up an international drug ring and seized nearly five tonnes of ecstasy in what they say is the world's single largest seizure of the pills.
The joint operation with the Australian Customs Service led to the arrests today of 16 people across Australia who were allegedly involved in the distribution and trafficking of the drugs.
The two agencies said the investigation began in June 2007 when a shipping container from Italy arrived in Melbourne and was found to hold 3,000 tomato cans containing ecstasy pills with an estimated street value of €259 million.
Officials substituted the 4.9 tons of ecstasy with another substance and then tracked the delivery.
AP