Police have charged 18 people and seized 268 kilograms of illicit drugs following a multi-agency investigation into a national crime syndicate.

It will be alleged the syndicate was importing drugs by sea, hiding them in consignments of shoes, plastic products and wooden pallets, before using planes, drug mules and Australia Post to smuggle them over state borders.

The drugs had a combined estimated street value of around $60 million and included 150 kilograms of pseudoephedrine, 95 kilograms of methylamphetamine, 21 kilograms of ketamine and two kilograms of cocaine.

As part of Strike Force Bloomfield, detectives executed 30 search warrants across New South Wales and Western Australia, resulting in 18 people being arrested and charged.

Police also seized 14 firearms, nearly $2.4 millio

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