Two Melbourne men have been charged over an alleged attempt to smuggle nearly 100kgs of methamphetamine into Australia, hidden inside farming equipment.

About 98kgs of methamphetamine was allegedly found by Australian Border Force officers stashed inside the drive shafts of wheat threshing machines bound for Oakleigh South in late November.

Investigators removed the drugs and delivered the machines to their destination, before a 38-year-old Tullamarine man and a 34-year-old Croydon Hills man allegedly moved them to a property in Dewhurst, south-east of Melbourne.

Authorities allege the two men had links to Afghan organised crime, with the investigation launched following a referral from the Dubai Police Anti-Narcotics team.

A search of the Dewhurst property and a residence in Tullamarine revealed items which investigators said were “consistent with a suspected clandestine laboratory”.

Both men were arrested by police and charged with importing a commercial quantity of a border-controlled drug, an offence which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

AFP Detective Superintendent Jason McArthur said the shipment could have fuelled nearly 1 million individual street deals, had it gone undetected.

“The amount of harm 98kg of methamphetamine could have caused to the community if it had not been intercepted by law enforcement would have been immense,” he said.

“Preventing a significant amount of methamphetamine from hitting Melbourne’s streets, just days before Christmas, has saved many families from the grief and heartbreak caused by illicit drugs.”

The men are next due to appear before Melbourne Magistrates Court on March 13 next year.