Five packages wrapped in plastic, suspected to contain cocaine, have been discovered on beaches in Sydney, adding to a longstanding drug enigma.
Uncovered by beachgoers at Freshwater and Curl Curl on Monday, the parcels, totaling 5kg, were confiscated by police.
Authorities assert these packages are part of a larger consignment of cocaine fragments that have been washing ashore since December.
According to the OECD, Australians rank highest globally in per capita cocaine usage, followed closely by Britain.
“Ongoing investigations are underway, and the public is urged to promptly report any dubious packages to the authorities,” stated NSW Police in a release on Tuesday.
Since the initial sighting of a package in the Central Coast region, approximately 90km (55 miles) north of Sydney, three days before Christmas, over 250kg of cocaine have been discovered along the New South Wales coastline.
These packages, varying in size but with some weighing up to 39kg, have appeared on more than ten beaches spanning a 500-km coastal stretch.
A lifeguard captured the retrieval of one package from the waves at Bondi on New Year’s Day, while another was recently found on Valla Beach on the mid-north coast in March.
The circumstances leading to the presence of the parcels in the ocean remain unclear.
In January, NSW Police informed the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that they believed the drugs originated in South America and likely reached Australia via a cargo vessel.
“Occasionally, we observe instances where items are intentionally thrown into the ocean to be retrieved by another vessel,” noted Jason Weinstein, the State Crime Command director.
Detectives have examined some of the recovered packages covered in barnacles, concluding that they had been in the water for no more than six weeks before discovery.
According to the national law enforcement agency, Australians consumed 16.5 metric tons of methamphetamines, cocaine, heroin, and MDMA in the year ending August 2023, reflecting a 17% rise in usage compared to the preceding 12-month period.
