SYDNEY, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Australian authorities said on Monday that 1.1 tonnes of cocaine was seized last week from two shipping containers that arrived at Sydney's Port Botany.

According to a joint statement by Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Australian Border Force, the estimated street value of the combined 1.1 tonnes of cocaine was 440 million Australian dollars (about 295 million U.S. dollars).

The first container sent from Switzerland was marked as having 20 pallets of rat poison and insecticide.

But the border officers found 11 packages wrapped in black plastic, which contained blocks of a powdered substance that returned a presumptive positive result for cocaine.

A second container was intercepted later on the day, declared as containing "plastic articles" sent from the United States.

It also contained 11 packages wrapped in plastic, with an estimated total of 550 kg of cocaine.

AFP Detective Acting Superintendent Luke Wilson said the cocaine in the two containers would have caused significant harm to the Australian community if it had reached the streets.

The AFP is still seeking information about the importation. Enditem

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