The Australian Federal Police arrested three men at the Sydney port for trying to smuggle about 1,115 pounds of cocaine worth more than $100 million.

On Sunday, investigators saw a 38-year-old forklift driver moving various shipping containers around a facility at the port to access a specific container sent from Europe that police said contained the cocaine.

The investigators were part of a multi-agency team working to stop drug smuggling by “trusted insiders,” a term that in Australia refers to “anyone who has been given access to a business’s systems and physical premises,” according to security officials.

After seeing the forklift driver access the specific container, police saw a 25-year-old man enter with a bag. Police arrested him once he left the container, and then they went in and found a crowbar, an angle grinder, portable lights, ear protection and other tools. The man with the bag, police said, was using the tools to cut into a fake wall inside the container.

When police opened up the fake wall, they found 506 packages of white powder weighing more than 1,000 pounds that tested positive for cocaine. The drugs were worth more than $106 million.

Police arrested the 38-year-old when he returned to the container in question, and then performed a search warrant at his house. Australian authorities charged the 38-year-old and the 25-year-old with “importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug and attempting to possess a commercial quantity of cocaine,” police said.

A 42-year-old man and fellow forklift driver was arrested, leaving the 38-year-old forklift driver’s property with about AU$200,000 or $130,392 on him. A second search warrant at the 25-year-old’s residence turned up another AU$130,000 or $84,754, police said.

In addition to the drug charges, authorities also charged the 42-year-old with “dealing with money believed to be proceeds of general crime,” police said.

The three men, none of whom Australian authorities publicly identified, are due back in court on Oct. 29. A conviction on the charge of trying to possess a commercial quantity of cocaine could carry a life sentence, police said.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.