Three men are due before a London court in January after police discovered 450 kilos of MDMA hidden within an digger that was shipped into the Port of Brisbane from the UK earlier this year.
An x-ray of the machine revealed the drugs haul, worth an estimated €48.5 million, hidden in its arms.
Forensics officers examined the machine and removed 226 plastic bags containing a crystalline substance.
Laboratory tests revealed it to be MDMA, better known as ecstasy.
Three men were arrested in London and two in Western Sydney following the seizure in March of this year.
Two of the men believed to be involved in arranging the importation and exportation were arrested in Putney by NCA officers on June 15.
MDMA worth £44 million found in lead-lined excavator boom
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MDMA worth £44million found stuffed in excavator
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MDMA worth £44m found in lead-lined excavator boom
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