Alleged Chinese drug lord took a 545-mile cab ride from Sydney to Melbourne to escape police

A Chinese drug lord tried to evade capture by police by getting a cab 545 miles from Sydney to Melbourne which cost him $4,500 (£2,664), say police. The alleged mastermind behind a $45m (£26m) 'ice' ring, Ho Ming Sze, was denied bail after being transferred back to Sydney by detectives on Friday, 12 August.

The 28-year-old is said to have escaped Sydney after police arrested three accomplices in July seizing almost 90kg of methylamphetamine – also known as "meth", "crystal meth" or "ice". The haul was said to have a street value of with almost $45m.

The Redfern Region Enforcement Squad arrested Ho in Melbourne before he was taken to Parramatta court, in Sydney, where he appeared by video link. Ho was charged with supplying a commercial quantity of drugs and his bail was rejected by the court.

He became the fourth man to be charged in connection to the drug syndicate. Police believe he made his escape in a taxi on 23 July when he asked a taxi driver to extend his fare after he was picked up in the centre of Sydney asking him to take him almost 900km to Melbourne.

Sze arrived in Sydney on Friday afternoon and was taken to Botany Bay Police Station before he was charged. The investigation began in July when police stopped a 26-year-old man in Thomas Street in the Haymarket area of Sydney on July 22 for talking on his phone while driving.

Officers began a search of the car where they uncovered 3kg of the highly addictive drug. Police say that the ring then began to unravel with a 30-year-old man stopped whilst carrying a briefcase containing another 10kg the following day.

That same day police executed a search warrant on a house in Canberra Street, in the St Johns Park area of the city, seizing $1.4m (£828,000) in cash whilst arresting a 21-year-old man. The three men have all been charged with drug offences.