SYDNEY, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- Police in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) said on Thursday that six men have been charged after authorities intercepted a 46 kg shipment of cocaine.

The NSW Police Force said in a statement that the cocaine was found concealed in a shipping container on Dec. 10 by officers from the Australian Border Force and a strike force investigating alleged drug supply and money laundering activity in Sydney and Brisbane by a transnational organized crime network.

Following inquiries into the shipment and its destination, strike force detectives arrested four men in western Sydney on Wednesday morning.

Three of the men were each charged with two counts of supplying a prohibited drug in a large commercial quantity while the fourth man was charged with four counts of the same offense, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

Two more men were separately arrested later on Wednesday in southwest Sydney. One was charged with four counts of supplying a prohibited drug in a large commercial quantity and the other was charged with seven drug supply offenses.

Three of the six men were also charged with firearms offenses and all six were charged with participating in a criminal group.

A firearm, ammunition, gold bullion, over 115,000 Australian dollars (75,872.3 U.S. dollars) in cash and another 1.2 kg of cocaine were located and seized by officers executing subsequent search warrants across Sydney on Wednesday. Enditem