Picture frames, cat food and bath bombs concealed drugs

He was refused bail after police allegedly found 15 kilograms of cocaine in cat food packaging, 5 kilograms of an amphetamine-type substance in heat-sealed foil bags and 3.5 kilograms of ephedrine in bath bombs.

Australian Federal Police said "methamphetamine and other drugs have a devastating impact on individuals and our communities which is why we're committed to prosecuting those responsible".

Investigators set a trap for the alleged drug importer after seven kilograms of methamphetamine was found inside black picture frames travelling from Bangkok to Australia in June, 2023.

Officers swapped the drugs for an inert substance and delivered the shipment to the address in North Ryde, Sydney.

But no one came to collect the package.

After two months of investigating police tracked the consignment to a 24-year-old man in Auburn, NSW.

A search of his home, a NSW storage unit and a postage facility in Adelaide found the cache of drugs, chemicals needed to manufacture methamphetamine and 25 newly-registered SIM cards, police said.

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Investigators also found 522 boxes of bath bombs the 24-year-old had allegedly imported as a 'cover load' to avoid raising the suspicions of Australia's border force.

Police will allege the man was contacted by a person in China who offered $5000 to collect the consignment and deliver it to another person.

He's charged with one count of pre-trafficking a commercial quantity of controlled precursors and one count of attempting to possess a commercial quantity of unlawfully imported border controlled drugs.