Hundreds of bottles of sriracha chilli sauce arrived in Sydney from the US containing 400kg of concealed ice.

A shipment of ice with an estimated street value of more than $300 million was snuck into Australia through hundreds of bottles of sriracha hot sauce.

Four men alleged to be “key members” of a criminal syndicate were arrested after the air cargo consignment, declared to contain the popular red chilli sauce, arrived at a Sydney freight depot from the US.

Police said it was targeted by Australian Border Force (ABF) officers on October 15 who “noted inconsistencies”.

“During a subsequent deconstruction it was found to contain 768 bottles of sriracha chilli sauce, with presumptive testing returning a positive indicator for methylamphetamine (ice),” NSW Police said in a joint statement with the ABF on Thursday.

“A preliminary forensic analysis determined the bottles contained about 400kg of methylamphetamine, which has an estimated potential street value of more than $300 million.”

But the delivery didn’t finish its journey there.

Investigators, with assistance from Australia Federal Police and the ABF, conducted a controlled delivery of the sauce bottles.

A 36-year-old man was arrested outside a home in Plumpton, in Sydney’s west, just before 2pm on Sunday, October 20.

Two Victorian men, aged 30 and 34, were arrested by detectives in the carpark of a hotel in Sydney’s CBD about 6pm the following day.

Police searched a vehicle and seized eight boxes containing bottles of sriracha, box cutters, moving bags and gardening gloves.

A hotel suite was also raided with 26 more boxes and four mobile phones found in the search.

The three men were all charged with attempt to possess a commercial quantity of an unlawful import – border-controlled drug, and large commercial drug supply.

The latter charge carries a maximum penalty in NSW of life behind bars.

Police will allege in court that the 36-year-old Plumpton man accessed the shipment of sauce bottles at Wetherill Park and transported it to a storage facility at Minchinbury before the two Victorian men accessed it and took it to a hotel on Kent St in Sydney’s CBD.

A fourth man, aged 45, was arrested outside a home in Edensor Park after a raid about 7am on Thursday.

He was taken to Fairfield Police Station and charged later in the day with the possession of identity information to commit an indictable offence.

Acting Assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith said they are not finished with the alleged group.

“This has been a complex investigation and we know the methylamphetamine in this import was headed for a clandestine lab in the Sydney Metropolitan area for the extraction process to occur,” he said on Thursday.

“We will not stop with the arrests of these four men who are key members of the network.”

Acting ABF Regional Commander for NSW, Matt O’Connor, warned criminal syndicates planning such elaborate imports that they have the skills, technology and resources to stop them in their tracks.

“No matter how clever you think you are being in the way that you attempt to conceal and move your drugs,” he said.

“Methamphetamine, or ice, has a devastating effect on the community every single day – and the ABF will continue working with our domestic law enforcement partners to stop those who try to import this life destroying drug.”

Strike Force Diffey was established in September 2018 to investigate co-ordinated money laundering across Sydney and the importation and supply of illicit drugs into NSW.

The 45-year-old man was granted conditional bail by police to appear at Fairfield Local Court on November 28.

The 36-year-old man fronted Mt Druitt Local Court on October 21 and was refused bail to reappear on December 16.

The two Victorian men appeared at Downing Centre Local Court on October 22 and were also refused bail. They are due back before Central Local Court via video link on December 17.