Ice plot accused to face Sydney courts

Eleven people will face court after police raids on more than two dozen properties across Sydney and the ACT they allege were linked to a plot to manufacture more than a tonne of the drug ice.

The nine men and two women were among 13 people aged between 19 and 60 arrested following the seizure of 1.4 tonnes of the methamphetamine precursor, ephedrine, in a Port Botany shipping container on Saturday.

Investigators say they belong to a syndicate run by bikie and Asian crime gang members which was planning to flood Australian streets with enough of the drug to supply 13 million hits.

"That's one tonne of misery that won't be injected into the arms of our men and women," AFP acting commissioner Neil Gaughan told reporters on Wednesday.

The ephedrine was allegedly imported from China hidden in buckets of sea salt for use in aquariums and had an estimated value of $650 million.

The 11 accused syndicate members have been refused bail and are expected to face numerous charges relating to drug supply and participation in a criminal enterprise in local courts across Sydney on Thursday.

A 25-year-old man from Penrith has also been formally refused bail and will face court next month while a 32-year-old ACT man will appear in a NSW court once he is extradited.