By Lia Harris, ABC
Photo: Supplied / NSW Police
Almost 50 kilograms of cocaine has washed up on beaches between Sydney and Newcastle in the days since police said they suspected most of a mysterious haul of tightly bound packages of the drug had been found.
A total of 170kg of the illicit drug has now been found scattered along the NSW coast since 22 December when the first brick was discovered by a beachgoer on the Central Coast.
Police have confirmed another 39 bricks, each containing 1kg of cocaine, were found in a single package on a beach in Botany this week.
Lifeguards found a small package floating off North Bondi on News Year's Day before retrieving it from the water and taking it to a local police station.
Police first issued a public warning on Christmas Eve when bricks of the illicit substance began washing up on the Central Coast and Sydney's northern beaches.
NSW Police State Crime Command director Jason Weinstein told ABC News last week they were still trying to trace exactly where the shipment came from, but believe it originated from somewhere in South America and was bound for Australia.
"We know syndicates will use a number of methods through shipping containers," Detective Chief Inspector Weinstein said.
"Sometimes we do see where items are deliberately tossed into the ocean to be picked up by another vessel."
The investigation began when the first brick of cocaine was found on a Central Coast beach on the Friday before Christmas.
A search the following day uncovered three more parcels, with three found at Manly, Avoca and Blacksmiths beaches.
On Sunday, a further seven parcels were discovered by members of the public at Magenta Beach, Pelican Beach, Blacksmith Beach, Avoca Beach, Pentaloon Bay and North Steyne Beach.
Photo: Supplied / NSW Police
After a public warning from NSW Police about the suspicious packages, on Boxing Day a fisherman at Barrenjoey Headland off Sydney's northern beaches came across a blue barrel, containing another 39 individually wrapped packages that each allegedly contained 1kg of the illicit substance.
Later that same day, another 39 sealed bricks each allegedly containing 1kg of cocaine was found at Newcastle Ocean Baths.
It is unclear how long the cocaine had been at sea, but some parcels were found covered in barnacles.
Detective Chief Inspector Weinstein said given the size and packaging of the shipment, it may have been attached to the hull of a cargo ship under water before coming loose and washing up on popular swimming beaches and rocky coastline.
Late last week, police told the ABC 124g of the drug had been found and investigators didn't expect to find much more because most cargo ship hauls of that kind contain about 120kg of cocaine.
"The reason it's appearing now was probably due to the tropical storm in North Queensland and the significant rough seas and king tides in the last few weeks," he said.
Police are warning people not to launch their own search parties after two people suspected to be looking for more illicit product had to be rescued by water police in Pittwater last week.
"If someone is caught in possession of one of these bricks, it's a large commercial quantity and that carries 25 years to life imprisonment, so its a significant penalty," Weinstein said.
Anyone who may have seen similar packages is urged to call triple-0 in Australia, local police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
-This story was first published by the ABC.