Pubdate: Mon, 08 Nov 1999 Source: Australian Associated Press (Australia) Copyright: 1999 Australian Associated Press LARGE HEROIN HAUL SEIZED IN SYDNEY SYDNEY - Police and customs officers have seized 219 kg of heroin after swooping on a false-bottomed shipping container in Port Botany. It was Australia's second-largest heroin haul. Two Singaporean men aged 47 and 51 have been charged with being knowingly concerned in the importation of heroin. The raid was the result of a joint operation between Customs officers, federal police and the Joint Asian Crime Group. A statement issued by federal Justice and Customs Minister Amanda Vanstone today said the haul equated to four million 'hits'. The older man has also been charged with attempting to possess a prohibited import. Both will appear in Sydney Central Local Court this morning. "The heroin was concealed in a false floor of a shipping container that arrived at Port Botany, Sydney, from Indonesia on October 20," the statement said. "The container had been identified for examination by customs intelligence analysts working in consultation with Joint Asian Crime Group investigators who had been targeting people connected with the importation of an earlier suspect container," the statement said. Vanstone said the shipment, had it reached the streets, would have put 'thousands of lives at risk'. Australia's largest heroin seizure occurred late last year, when 390 kg was seized near Port Macquarie on the NSW mid north coast. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D