MELBOURNE, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Police in the Australian state of Victoria have charged five people after busting two alleged drug syndicates operating in the suburbs of Melbourne.
Victoria Police said in a statement on Thursday that both alleged syndicates were busted late in March by officers who seized about 36 kg of drugs while executing search warrants in Melbourne's outer suburbs.
During the first search on March 26, detectives located 11 kg of methamphetamine at a property in Diamond Creek, 23 km northeast of central Melbourne, as well as a money counter and two sets of scales.
Three people were arrested, and one, a 24-year-old man, was charged with trafficking a large commercial quantity of methamphetamine.
A separate investigation resulted in police on Monday searching a property in Williams Landing, 20 km southwest of central Melbourne, where they seized over 25 kg of drugs, including 11 kg of MDMA, 10.8 kg of ketamine and 3.4 kg of cocaine.
In addition to the drugs, approximately 500,000 Australian dollars (about 346,284 U.S. dollars) in cash, a machete and electronic devices were also seized.
Four people, two men and two women all in their 20s, were charged with trafficking a large commercial quantity of drugs.
If convicted, all five people who were charged could face maximum penalties of life imprisonment.
Victoria Police said that the total quantity of drugs seized during the two investigations had an estimated street value of 5.9 million AUD. ■
