Actress faces life in prison for trying to smuggle almost £159m of meth

Australian authorities say one of the country's biggest recent border seizures began with an X-ray at a Sydney port and two shipping containers listed as carrying charcoal.

The cargo had arrived at Port Botany from Ghana in April, when border officials reportedly noticed anomalies in the containers and decided to take a closer look.

What they discovered prompted a wider police investigation, with officers later removing the suspected drugs from the shipment before it was sent on to a storage facility in Sydney's western suburbs.

Now, a British actress who has previously appeared in an EastEnders spin-off and a Jason Statham film is at the centre of the case.

Emaa Hussen, 34, has been charged with the crime of attempting to import a commercial quantity of methamphetamine into Australia, an offence which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison if she is convicted.

She faces a possible life sentence if convicted in Australia (BBC)

As reported by the BBC, Police allege Hussen was involved in trying to import 320kg of meth, said to have been hidden in bags of charcoal inside shipping containers from Ghana.

The drugs have been given an estimated street value of A$296 million, which is almost £159 million.

Hussen appeared before a Sydney court on Thursday, with the BBC also noting she had already been refused bail in an earlier court decision. She is now due to appear back in court in August.

The actress previously played Naz in EastEnders: E20, the spin-off of the long-running TV soap, which first aired in 2010.

She also appeared in Hummingbird, the 2013 action thriller starring Jason Statham, which was released in the US under the title Redemption.

According to Australian police, the investigation began after border authorities picked up on something unusual in two containers that had arrived at Sydney's Port Botany from West Africa.

Authorities then found a ‘white crystalised substance’ after X-raying the contents, which had been listed as bags of charcoal. Further testing later confirmed the substance was methamphetamine.

Authorities say the shipment contained 320kg of meth hidden in charcoal (wing-wing/Getty Images)

Police allege the drugs were removed from the shipment before it was delivered to a storage facility in Girraween, in Sydney's west.

They also allege Hussen went to the facility and supervised as several men unpacked the container.

Several bags were then allegedly loaded into a car and driven to a house in Blacktown, where Hussen was later arrested. Police said electronic devices and a notebook were also seized.

As part of the same investigation, a 30-year-old woman and a 32-year-old man were also arrested and charged in Adelaide, South Australia.

They are accused of using false identities to rent the Sydney storage units where the drugs were delivered.

Speaking about the seizure, Det Acting Supt Trevor Robinson from the Australian Federal Police said: "The seizure of these drugs - with an estimated street value of $296 million - has prevented a potential 3.2 million deals from reaching Australian streets."

Australian Border Force Supt Jared Leighton also praised officers involved in the operation.

He said: "Criminal syndicates will go to great lengths to disguise illicit drugs, including embedding them in everyday goods like charcoal, but our highly skilled officers are trained to see beyond these attempts."