Three New South Wales men charged in connection with Australia's third largest cocaine seizure have been remanded in custody to face court again next month.

Two men were charged with attempting to import a commercial quantity of drugs, and a third man was charged with possession.

They appeared in the Magistrates Court in Brisbane yesterday and did not apply for bail.

Two other men have been detained on a catamaran off the Queensland coast that is being towed to shore.

Federal police seized 464 kilograms of cocaine worth $160 million from a yacht in a Brisbane marina on Tuesday.

The drugs were wrapped in black plastic and brown paper and hidden in bags.

Thirty-two bags of the cocaine were displayed at a police press conference this morning - some in duffle bags, others in backpacks that had been hidden in the luxury yacht.

Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers also searched 12 properties and uncovered a clandestine laboratory at Eden on the New South Wales coast.

AFP deputy commissioner Andrew Colvin says it represents 500,000 drug hits.

"Had these narcotics been allowed to reach the streets, then organised crime would have profited approximately $160 million," he said.

US law enforcement agencies tipped off Australian authorities late last week.

Marion Grant from Customs and Border Protection says officers started scouring the coast off southern Queensland for two boats and a possible exchange of drugs at sea.

"The operation was conducted in incredibly hazardous sea states," he said.

"If you'd had a choice you would not have been out on a boat in these conditions."

Federal Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor says it is a job well done.

"This is a fantastic effort by the Australian Federal Police, Customs and border protection and Queensland and New South Wales police working together," he said.