THE 18 boxes of cocaine Cassandra Sainsbury is accused of attempting to traffic might sound like a lot - but it pales in comparison to Colombia's largest ever bust that makes crime drama Narcos look like child’s play.

The South Australian woman is currently being held in Bogota, Colombia, after being accused of trying to transport nearly six kilograms of the drug concealed inside headphone boxes.

She maintains her innocence and said she bought what she thought were headphones from a trusted friend.

These incredible pictures from May last year show more than seven tonnes — with a street value of $343 million — which were seized by 50 Black Hawk-riding police commandos on a banana plantation near the Panama border, reports The Sun.

Colombian officials were quick to declare it the biggest seizure in the nation’s history.

President Juan Manuel Santos tweeted: “Congratulations @PoliciaColombia: operation in Turbo have seized the largest amount in our history. A crushing blow to the criminals.”

The commandos found more than 350 sacks of cocaine hidden underneath 2.5 metres of concrete.

Felicitaciones @PoliciaColombia: operativo en Turbo incautó la mayor cantidad de droga en la historia. Golpe contundente a criminales.⁠⁠⁠⁠ — Juan Manuel Santos (@JuanManSantos) May 15, 2016

Investigators confirmed that almost a quarter of the haul was packaged and ready to be exported onto the market.

Police believe the drugs belong to Colombia’s most notorious criminal Roberto Vargas Gutierrez.

Three suspects were captured while another three escaped.

An estimated 400 tonnes of cocaine was exported illegally from Colombia in 2014 according to the UN.

Nearly 82 tonnes have been seized in 2016 to date.

Much of that amount finds its way into the lucrative markets of the US and police estimates base the haul’s value on what it would fetch on the New York black market.

Colombia’s most infamous drug trafficker was Pablo Escobar, whose drug-smuggling empire saw him feature on Forbes magazine’s rich list for seven straight years.

At one point he was estimated to have imported 80 per cent of all the cocaine into the United States, but he was eventually killed by Colombian forces in 1993.

Netflix’s 2015 drama Narcos dramatised Escobar’s rise to power.

It detailed his infamous ultimatum of ‘plate o plomo’, which was regularly offered to pursuing authorities.

The question literally translated as ‘silver or lead’, meaning police were given the choice of accepting a bribe or being shot.

This story originally appeared in The Sun.