Police have seized 255 kilograms of ice in California, and $2.4 million in cash in Victoria's north-west, as part of an investigation into an alleged conspiracy to use a light plane to export drugs from the US to Australia.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said the joint investigation with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) began when they received a tip-off in January.

The drugs, which the DEA identified as crystal methamphetamine, were found after police in the US conducted a search of a storage facility in Northern California in June.

Following the discovery, the AFP said they arrested a 72-year-old man at Melbourne Airport on July 5. They allege he planned to fly the drugs back to Australia in a light aircraft.

They arrested a second man, 52, from Zetland in Sydney's east, last Friday at Sydney International Airport.

That arrest was in connection to the $2.4 million which was found in Mildura, in a prime mover that was driven from Adelaide in April.

A small plane that police allege a 72-year-old man was planning to use to transport the drugs. ( Supplied: Australian Federal Police )

The third man, aged 58, was arrested in Sunshine, in Melbourne's west.

Police said all three men would be charged with conspiracy to import a commercial quantity of border controlled drugs and money laundering offences.

The men face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The drugs had an estimated street value of $255 million in Australia, police said.

AFP Superintendent Krissy Barrett said the force's strategy to tackle the problem of ice was to target international syndicates.

"To successfully combat crystal methamphetamine in Australia, the AFP's long-term strategy has been to target the offshore transnational organised crime syndicates targeting Australia," she said.

"We cannot do this without the help of our international partners such as the DEA"

Eric W. Baldus from the DEA acknowledged the co-operation between the two agencies.

"Our strong partnerships with the AFP, and others within the international law enforcement community, are vital to our unified efforts in combating the world's most dangerous and prolific narcotics traffickers," he said.