Two Kent men have been arrested on suspicion of smuggling 24kg of crystal meth worth almost £16 million to Australia.

Kevin Filkins, 52, from Sevenoaks, and 51-year-old Orpington man Robert Hamilton were detained yesterday by officers from the Organised Crime Partnership - a joint team of National Crime Agency and Metropolitan Police officers.

A third person, Yvonne Stewart from Croydon, was also arrested.

The 52-year-old, who works in the cargo sector, is accused of accepting a shipment filled with crystal meth and failing to properly inspect it before it was marked as security cleared and sent to Australia. She is also alleged to have tracked the shipment as it travelled through the system.

Filkins is believed to have travelled to the shipping centre in Croydon on June 26 last year and paid for the shipment to be sent Down Under.

Hamilton is alleged to have arranged the contact between Filkins and Stewart to organise the shipment.

Upon arrival in Australia in July, Australian Border Force (ABF) officers selected the consignment for examination.

It revealed 24 plastic bags, each containing one kilo of a crystalline substance. Subsequent testing confirmed this to be crystal meth.

The ABF referred the consignment to the Australian Federal Police for further investigation.

Its inquiries - which focused on an Australia-based organised crime syndicate alleged to be behind multiple importations of illicit drugs - led to the identification of the suspects.

Det Insp Guy Carmichael, of the Organised Crime Partnership, said: “These drugs would be worth a significant amount in the UK - some £4 million - but their value in Australia would have been remarkably higher at £16 million, or just shy of $28 million Australian dollars.

“Working closely with partners in Australia, including the Australian Federal Police, means a large quantity of these dangerous drugs taken off the streets and a suspected key supply chain taken out of action.

“We will continue to target those who are supplying illegal drugs, whether within the UK or overseas.”

AFP detective acting inspector Brendon Basford said: “AFP investigators identified a person of interest in the UK tracking a shipment in a manner that we believed was suspicious, and passed on the information we had to the National Crime Agency via the AFP’s international liaison network.

“It’s incredibly rewarding to know that our partners have taken the initial information we provided and built a brief of evidence on criminal offences in the United Kingdom, having a tangible impact on the alleged suppliers to the enterprise seeking to exploit the Australian community."

“This is a great example of the reach of our professional law enforcement relationships worldwide,” ABF commander Susan Drennan added.

“Our tough action against criminals attempting to endanger the lives of those in our community does not stop at our borders.”

The trio were charged with being concerned in the exportation of Class A drugs last night. They were due to appear at Croydon Magistrates Court today.

Hamilton was also charged with possession with intent to supply a Class B drug and production of a Class B drug after a number of cannabis plants were reportedly found at his address.