A shipment of heroin representing more than a third of Australia's annual consumption has been found concealed within concrete blocks.
The 336 kilogram shipment with a street value of $269 million is the second-largest heroin bust in Australia and the largest in Queensland.
The drugs were hidden in concrete blocks inside a shipping container sent from Malaysia to Brisbane.
The concrete blocks weighing 500kg apiece were part of a container marked "solar panel accessories" destined for an industrial lot.
In terms of sophistication, Australian Federal Police Commander John Tanti said the concealment was "up there" in the attempts he had seen.
"These are people with some $268 million worth of profit driving their ambition. With that comes quite a bit of innovation," he told reporters on Tuesday.
"They underestimate the capacity of our partners to actually identify these drugs concealed within concrete.
"Probably tomorrow they'll devise another strategy that (Australian Border Force) will defeat."
Border force officers uncovered the stash after the consignment docked on March 13, identifying hundreds of packages hidden within the cement blocks after anomalies were detected using an X-ray.
Authorities seized 960 drug packages by drilling into the blocks before tracking the shipment to Brendale, north of Brisbane.
Police allege the consignment was driven in a rental truck to Sydney before being taken to an industrial shed in Mount Druitt.
A Sydney man who allegedly collected and transported the goods was arrested as part of a joint operation between federal police and the ABF.
The shipment remained under surveillance when the accused returned to the shed and used industrial tools to cut into the concrete to access the drugs.
Deconstructing the shipment and planning the controlled delivery was something the two agencies were "very good at", ABF Commander James Copeman said.
"This is routine business for us. It just happens to be one of the largest detections that Australia has ever seen," he said.
The 55-year-old man, from Auburn, has been charged with importing a commercial quantity of border-controlled drugs. He is expected to face Parramatta Local Court on Wednesday.
