SYDNEY, May 1 (Xinhua) -- The Australian Federal Police has charged three men after seizing 500 kg of cocaine in the Queensland state.

The three men were arrested on Sunday when they returned to shore in an 8.2-meter fishing boat at the Boyne Island boat ramp, located about 24 km south of Gladstone.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the federal police revealed that 15 black and yellow waterproof bags were found in the vessel, each containing about 32 blocks of a powdered substance, which returned a presumptive positive result for cocaine.

The exact weight and purity of the drug will be determined through further forensic testing.

According to the police, the 500 kg of cocaine has an estimated street value of more than 162 million Australian dollars (about 104.8 million U. S. dollars).

The drug "has the potential to facilitate more than 2 million individual street deals and cause tens of millions of dollars in harm to the Australian community," said Australian Federal Police Commander John Tanti.

The three men, aged 66, 45 and 27, were remanded in custody before appearing at a local court in July.

They were charged with possessing a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border-controlled drug, which would carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Enditem

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