Mystery drug haul washing up around Sydney could reach Victoria

With a mystery cocaine haul likely to now be washing up on Victorian beaches there is a warning after two enterprising treasure hunters had to be rescued looking for the bounty.

Blocks of cocaine that have been washing up on NSW shores for weeks could soon reach Victoria’s beaches after sparking enterprising treasure hunters into jumping onto jetskis and looking for the haul.

Authorities in two states are now preparing for more blocks of the drugs to wash up with the latest discoveries coming on beaches as far as Wollongong and the south coast.

With the directions of the tides it is now believed more of the drug haul could make its way onto beaches in Victoria.

It comes as police suspect the rescue of two jet ski riders caught out at sea over the Christmas and New Year period were linked to daring plans to score a slice of the missing drugs.

It is understood the riders needed help after going out several kilometres at sea in poor conditions and getting stuck.

Some of the drugs found in a haul of 39 kilograms last month.

Where the drugs have washed ashore.

Police previously warned members of the public that not handing in any of the drugs could result in being charged with a criminal offence that carries a maximum penalty of life in jail.

“We thank those who have heeded the warning to report any suspicious packages to police as we get to the bottom of this matter and we remind people that being in possession of a prohibited drug is a criminal offence,” State Crime Command director Chief Superintendent Jason Weinstein said.

Some of the haul found at Newcastle.

The drugs have consistently been located in tightly wrapped 1kg packages, the threshold for what police consider a commercial quantity of cocaine is 250g.

That charge comes with a potential punishment of 20 years in jail.

In total more than 200kg of the drugs have washed up on the shores of the state from as far as Newcastle to the south coast.

The discoveries have ranged from single packages floating in the water to a fisherman locating 39 stuffed in a barrel off the Baranjoey headland on Boxing Day last year.

One of the barnacle covered packages. Police believe they could have been in the water for months.

On New Year’s Day a North Bondi lifeguard noticed one packaged labelled “ZOE” in the water while the last find came on January 6 when a doctor picked up a package at Wollongong City Beach.

On three occasions members of the public have located the drugs in 39 package hauls.

Police have been investigating whether the drugs were deliberately thrown overboard by a criminal syndicate or whether storms shook the drugs loose from an anchor on the ocean floor.

Detectives looking into the mystery drugs believe they could have been in the water for months before washing up due to some being covered in barnacles.

Another theory is that the drugs were attached to the bottom of a cargo vessel before having a scuba diver retrieve them once the ship comes into port, a common tactic in the underworld.

The most recent example occurred in May 2022 when a professional Brazilian scuba diver was found dead near a ship in Newcastle surrounded by floating bricks of cocaine.

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