Australian police are claiming the world's biggest seizure of ecstasy after finding 4.4 tonnes of the drug, worth £197m, hidden in tins of tomatoes.

The haul of around 15 million pills was seized after a series of raids across four states and in Europe.

Australian Federal Police said the banned amphetamine stimulant was imported from Italy into the southern city of Melbourne in June last year.

The operation followed a 12-month investigation after a tip-off and X-ray imaging of a shipping container that arrived in Port Melbourne on 28 June last year.

Authorities replaced the ecstasy with a harmless substitute and kept the consignment under surveillance.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty said: "There have been 185,000 telephone intercepts in this operation and there have been 400 members of the AFP deployed to this operation.

"There have also been 10,000 hours of surveillance deployed to this operation to find the perpetrators of this world's largest seizure and importation into our country.

"It is classic organised crime and we have done our best to shut down the syndicate."

Raids were also underway in Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy. So far, 21 people have been arrested around Australia.

Belfast Telegraph