Asia's El Chapo handed over to Australia

The alleged boss of Asia's biggest crime syndicate and one of the world's most wanted men has been extradited from the Netherlands to Australia and arrested on drug charges.

Chinese-born Canadian Tse Chi Lop, 59, is suspected of being the leader of an Asian mega-cartel known as Sam Gor, a major global producer and supplier of methamphetamine.

Tse - dubbed Asia's "El Chapo" in reference to Mexican drug lord Joaquin Guzman's nickname - is expected to appear in a Melbourne court to answer a charge of "conspiracy to traffic commercial quantities of controlled drugs."

He faces life imprisonment if convicted.

Sam Gor - or "The Company" - is believed to launder billions in drug money through casinos, hotels and real estate in Southeast Asia's Mekong region. Tse, who had been the subject of an Interpol Red Notice, was detained at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport in January 2021 after a decade-long hunt.

Australian Federal Police assistant commissioner Krissy Barrett said the arrest came after a "very complex investigation."

Barrett added: "We allege this male is the head of a large transnational organized crime syndicate. By their very nature, these very senior figures within the syndicates obviously deliberately stay hands-off in terms of the business dealings."

Australian police said the charges relate to a specific 2012-2013 operation transferring drugs from Melbourne to Sydney.

Police had nabbed 27 people and netted 20 kilos of methamphetamine with a street value of US$3 million (HK$23.4 million).

A second man has also been arrested after being extradited from Thailand.

The United Nations' narcotics agency estimated the Sam Gor syndicate's meth revenue in 2018 at US$8 billion a year, but said it could be as high as US$17.7 billion.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE