Four men arrested following New Zealand's largest cocaine bust are appearing in Tauranga Court today.

Two Australian men and a Croatian aged in their mid-forties, and one Serbian national in his mid-thirties were arrested after an estimated 46 kilograms of cocaine, with a street value of around NZ$20 million ($450 per gram), has been seized from an address in Tauranga early yesterday morning.

Read more here.

Customs commenced the operation after an investigation into smaller methamphetamine seizures, resulting in several arrests, identified persons of interest believed to be involved in smuggling and distributing Class A drugs and money laundering.

Customs joined forces with Police to build intelligence and carry out investigative work, establishing that a cocaine shipment would be offloaded from a commercial ship near Tauranga.

The ship arrived from Chile late on Tuesday.