Three men in London have been arrested over the seizure of £44m of MDMA, which was found in an excavator shipped to Australia.

Two men in Sydney have also been arrested in connection with the discovery of the 455kg stash of the Class A drug, which was spread across 226 packages in the specially modified piece of machinery.

Australian Border Force staff found the illegal drugs when an x-ray showed anomalies on 15 March this year, and an investigation was launched by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) and Australian Federal Police.

After the load was emptied at Brisbane port, the excavator – which had been shipped from Southampton – was then delivered to its intended destination of Sydney.

The NCA, analysing encrypted messages obtained as part of a separate operation, uncovered a London-based criminal group responsible for importing illegal drugs into the UK, with plans to then export them in heavy-plant machinery Down Under.

Conversations discovered on the encrypted messaging app EncroChat, sent by devices between January and June, detailed plans on how to buy the excavator, discussed import costs, and confirmed the movement of the drugs.

Two men, Danny Brown, 53, and German national Stefan Baldauf, 60, were arrested in Putney on 15 June for potential involvement in arranging the import and export, according to the NCA.

Another man, 57-year-old Peter Murray, was detained outside his house in Greenwich on 1 October.

All three are charged with conspiring to export class A drugs and are due at Kingston Crown Court on 15 January.

The arrests in Sydney were of two men aged 33 and 42, and they have also been charged.

They were not arrested until earlier this week over their suspected involvement in the conspiracy, which was shut down back in June.

The authorities’ operation was dubbed Operation Venetic.

Chris Hill, senior investigating officer for the NCA, said: “Through close working with our Australian partners, and analysis of encrypted messages recovered as part of Op Venetic, we were able to uncover this highly organised conspiracy and prevent the criminals behind it from making millions in illicit profits.

“In the UK, this amount of MDMA could potentially make close to £18m.

“In Australia, profits would have been even higher – $79m (£44m) if sold on the streets.

Mr Hill added: “Drug trafficking incites violence, spreads fear and exploits the vulnerable.”

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