Australian police have busted a drug trafficking network, mostly cocaine, worth more than $ 1 billion, run by a group of Albanians. The cocaine was destined to be sold on the streets of Australia.

Australian police have described the action as one of the biggest blows to organized crime by seizing about 1.5 tonnes of drugs, including more than 400kg of methamphetamine and more than 500kg of cocaine. 

In the police operation against drug trafficking, cocaine worth $ 20 million was also seized. The drugs were hidden in machines called 'jukeboxes' that played music while bearing the logo with the famous number 23 of LeBron James as a symbol of the quality of the famous basketball player himself. 

"LeBron 23 refers to the basketball player, I think this is a kind of way to sell drugs from these criminal organizations," said AFP Detective Inspector Mark McKiernan. A portion of the 45-kilogram cocaine was transported from Greece to Victoria, Australia. 

The leaders of the drug trafficking network are part of the organized crime run by Albanians, where some of them are behind bars and two of them risk life imprisonment. 

Organized Crime Squad Commander Robert Critchlow said the drugs were destined to be sold on the streets of Australia and would harm Australians themselves. "The combustion of the seized substances takes place inside a furnace, ending the potential damage that these drugs would cause," Critchlow said. 

"Detectives will continue to work with our partner law enforcement agencies and our State Crime Unit units to eliminate organized drug trafficking and make our country a safer place." 

Officers from the Organized Crime Squad worked with the Traffic and Highway Patrol, the Bass Hill Regional Enforcement Squad, the Tactical Operations Unit, and PolAir to transport the seized drugs and burn them.