SYDNEY, Nov 17 (Reuters) - A joint Australian-Chinese task force seized $40 million worth of methamphetamine from a boat in Sydney and arrested eight people, police said on Thursday.
Last week's two-day operation followed surveillance under the joint Australia-China law enforcement partnership Task force Blaze, established last year to combat the trade in methamphetamine, or "ice", police said.
Three barrels containing around 90 litres of liquid methamphetamine were discovered in barrels on a small boat after landing on a Sydney beach last Friday, leading to five arrests.
Three men were arrested two days later aboard a fishing vessel, police said, adding the methamphetamine had a street value of around A$54 million ($40.37 million).
Six of those arrested were from China, one from New Zealand and one from Taiwan, police said. All have been refused bail.