This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

New South Wales police have hailed one of the “easiest” drug busts in history after a driver allegedly crashed a van carrying $200m worth of the drug ice into parked cop cars outside a station in Sydney’s north-west.

The 26-year-old manwas facing three charges including drug trafficking and negligent driving, NSW police said.

The crash happened on Monday at 10.30am outside Eastwood police station and officers said the Toyota HiAce did not stop. Officers heard a loud bang and checked video surveillance.

One of the police vehicles – a Holden Commodore – was written off while the other was slightly damaged.

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Police caught up with the man in the nearby suburb of Ryde, searched the van and seized 273kg of methylamphetamine, known as ice, which has an estimated potential street value of more than $200m.

“This would be one of the easiest drug busts NSW police have ever made,” detective chief inspector Glyn Baker told reporters in Sydney on Tuesday.

“This man has certainly had a very, very bad day. Crashing into a police vehicle with that amount of drugs on board is somewhat unheard of – it’s an exceptional set of circumstances.” The drugs were inside sealed packing boxes.

Baker said it’s unclear what caused the driver to swerve into the police cars. The police investigation is now targeting a wider syndicate. Baker appealed for motorists who may have dash cam footage of the crash to contact police.

The man appeared at Burwood local court on Tuesday and was refused bail.