MELBOURNE: Australian police have seized the largest heroin shipment ever detected in the country, worth an estimated A$140mil (RM431.8mil), and arrested a Malaysian.

       Australian police said the 450kg shipment – as heavy as a grand piano – was detected in a sea freight container of ceramic tiles sent from Malaysia and addressed to a Melbourne business.

       In an immediate reaction, Bukit Aman said it was working with Australian police on the case.

       Federal Narcotic Crime Investigation Department director Comm Datuk Razarudin Husain said it was aware of the arrest of the Malaysian in Australia.

       “We will liaise with our counterparts in Australia on the case,” he added.

       Australian police have not named the arrested man, a typical practice in Australia.

       The man was charged with importing and attempted possession of a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug.

       The maximum penalty is life imprisonment, said Australian police.

       The Australian Federal Police was working with Malaysian police, said Krissy Barrett, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Southern Command.

       “We continue to work together in identifying and disrupting transnational organised crime syndicates that seek to harm both our nations and generate millions of dollars of profits from criminal activity,” said Barett.

       The interception of the heroin helped save 225 lives based on the police’s estimate that there is one death in the Australian community for approximately every 2kg of heroin consumed.