Police in Zurich have seized heroin with a street value of over SFr1 million ($580,000). Three men were arrested in the bust, which the authorities say was the result of a month-long operation between the cantonal and city police.

In a statement on Tuesday, police said they had seized 31,3 kilogrammes of heroin.

The bust took place on Saturday, after a search of two vehicles yielded 32 packets of heroin, each weighing half a kilogramme. Two men were arrested.

Police then raided an apartment in Volketswil, belonging to the parents of one of the men, and discovered a further 28 packets. A third man was arrested at a separate location in Rümlang later that day, and was found to be carrying 1,3 kilogrammes of the drug.

The men, all in their early 20s, were not named, but were said to be from former Yugoslavia. Two are resident in Switzerland, one lives in Germany.

Police said it was unclear whether the drugs were intended for sale in Switzerland or were to be exported. They said the investigation was continuing.

The bust is a major coup for Zurich police, given that 51 kilogrammes of heroin were seized by Switzerland's border guards over the whole of last year.

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