Three men have been arrested and 313 kilograms of ice seized in what Australian Federal Police have said is the largest haul of the drug destined for South Australia.

Police said the shipment – with an estimated value of about $270 million – was hidden in heavy machinery and most likely originated in south-east Asia.

They said there was no indication of involvement by outlaw motorcycle gangs.

Last year sewage analysis revealed Adelaide was Australia’s methylamphetamine capital with the highest ice levels per person.

The 2017 National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program tested the sewage of more than 14 million Australians and found that methylamphetamine or ice was the most prevalent illicit drug in the country.

The report revealed about 80 doses per 1000 people a day were being used in the Adelaide region, the highest amount recorded for the area in the data’s eight-year history.

The national average is just over 30 doses per 1000 people a day.

It isn’t the biggest haul in the country.

In December last year, eight men were charged after a record 1.2 tonnes of methamphetamine was brought in by boat to the port of Geraldton in Western Australia, worth an estimated $1.04 billion.

It followed a 903-kilogram seizure in Melbourne in early 2017.