Sydney, May 24 : Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Australian Border Force said on Wednesday that more than 300 kg of methamphetamine was seized in Sydney. A joint statement said the seized naroctics could have been sold as more than 3 million individual street deals and reached an estimated street value of over A$273 million ($180 million), reports Xinhua news agency. The drugs were hidden inside a steel hydraulic press, which arrived in the state of New South Wales on board a ship on April 18. Engineering experts identified a white substance deep inside the machinery, after drilling into the core of the hydraulic press. The machinery was pulled apart to reveal 79 circle-shaped blocks of methamphetamine. The blocks were stored within two lead-lined tubs in a bid to evade detection. "Methamphetamine causes immense harm. On average, 33 people were hospitalised each day in Australia for methamphetamine-related incidents in 2020-21," said AFP Detective Sergeant Salam Zreika. Zreika noted that the funding needed to obtain 300 kg of methamphetamine, and to develop such a complex concealment method could be achieved only by a well-established organised crime syndicate. The AFP is currently seeking information to identify the transnational crime syndicate. /IANS