Australians are warned to STOP looking for bricks of cocaine between Sydney and Newcastle – as cops reveal theory for why they keep washing up
Australians hoping to strike it rich by chasing the cocaine bricks that keep washing up on beaches between Sydney and Newcastle have been hit with a strict warning by police: don't do it.
Two people had to be rescued by NSW Water Police in Pittwater, in Sydney's north, earlier this week after what detectives believe was an ill-fated plot to find one of the drug-filled packages.
About 124kg of cocaine, packaged in dozens of packets, some of which were covered in barnacles, was discovered on the beaches between Sydney and Newcastle in the past week.
Investigators believe the drugs were stuck on a cargo ship from South America bound for Australia, but theorize that recent storms – including Cyclone Jasper – could have dislodged them from the ship's hull.
Police have warned Australians to stop searching for the package filled with cocaine that continues to wash up on the New South Wales central coast (pictured, one of the suspected cocaine packages)
The story began when the first block of cocaine was discovered on a Central Coast beach last Friday.
A subsequent search turned up three more packages on Manly, Avoca and Blacksmiths beaches.
A further seven packages were found by members of the public on Magenta, Pelican, Blacksmith, Avoca and North Steyne and Pentaloon Bay beaches on Sunday, leading police to issue a public warning.
On Boxing Day, Monday, a fisherman at Barrenjoey Headland discovered a blue barrel filled with a further 39 bricks, each containing a kilo of cocaine.
That same day, a further 39 stones were found in the Newcastle Ocean Baths.
It is unclear how long the packages were at sea.
Jason Weinstein, director of the NSW Police State Crime Command, warned that the quality of the cocaine is also unknown and people caught in possession of the drugs face serious prison sentences.
“If someone is caught in possession of one of these stones, it is a large commercial quantity and carries a 25-year or life sentence, so it is a significant penalty,” he told police. ABC on Saturday.
“We don't know yet what the purity of that is, we don't know what's mixed with that, there's a whole bunch of unknowns.”
NSW Police State Crime Command director Jason Weinstein warned the quality of the cocaine in the packages is unknown and people caught in possession of the drugs could face life behind bars (pictured, a package found on a beach in Newcastle)
Criminals often use cargo ships to smuggle cocaine into Australia.
“We know that syndicates will use a number of methods through shipping containers,” Chief Inspector Weinstein said.
“Sometimes we see items being deliberately thrown into the ocean to be picked up by another ship.”
Inspector Weinstein said previous shipments using the same method 'weighed around 120kg', leading investigators to believe all the cocaine had been found.
Anyone who has seen similar packages is urged to call triple-0, local police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
The packages should not be opened, police say.