Securoseal

Six men have been arrested over a cocaine importation syndicate allegedly involving workers at Sydney Airport's international terminal.

It will be alleged the six men were involved in an operation that imported almost $2 million worth of cocaine over the past 18 months and used employees at Sydney Airport to collect the packages from arriving flights, the Australian Federal Police said in a statement.

Investigators yesterday allegedly seized one kilogram of cocaine with an estimated street value of $350,000.

The men, aged between 20 and 55, were arrested yesterday by officers from the federal police and Customs and Border Protection Command, who have been investigating the alleged syndicate since 2007.

Investigators raided homes in Bexley, Glenwood, Matraville, Merrylands, Mascot and Maroubra, seizing an unknown quantity of Australian and foreign currency, the statement said.

A commercial premises in Mascot was also raided.

Federal police acting national aviation manager Steve Grant said up to 12 police officers worked full-time on the investigation, helping intercept more than 58,000 telephone calls.

"It is believed that this investigation has resulted in the dismantling of an international drug syndicate that relied upon the involvement of airport staff, which is an exceptional result," Commander Grant said.

"The Joint Airport Investigation Team targets serious and organised crime including targeting trusted insiders [employees] who exploit or aim to exploit security vulnerabilities at major airports."

Since the operation began, the team has investigated several related incidents, including the importation of 5.7 kilograms of cocaine in December 2007, which was found inside a plane.

The consignment had an estimated street value of $1.6 million.

Three of the men will appear in Central Local Court today and another two will appear there tomorrow.

The sixth man will appear at Downing Centre Court on October 27.