NSW residents have cheekily welcomed the arrival of bricks of cocaine that have washed up on beaches along the east coast.
The first tightly sealed brick appeared at Magenta Beach, on the state’s Central Coast, at about 8pm on Friday.
Police arrived at the scene and sent the package for testing where initial results indicated cocaine.
Further searches along the coast on Saturday uncovered six more packages on beaches stretching from Newcastle to Sydney including at Manly Beach, Avoca Beach and Blacksmiths Beach.
NSW residents have cheekily welcomed the arrival of bricks of cocaine that have washed up on beaches along the east coast
Some Aussies living in the suburbs where the drugs have washed up have now joked about racing down to the beaches in the hopes more have been left behind.
‘Wow I will be taking a close look for some of these when I am metal detecting tomorrow morning. Will make for a lovely Christmas,’ one said.
‘So it’s a white Christmas on the Northern Beaches?’ said another.
‘Damn wrong beach. I told them Freshy! (Freshwater Beach)’ one wrote.
‘Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow,’ another wrote.
NSW Police have warned the public not to touch any suspicious items on beaches and to contact police immediately.
‘Investigators are now urging anyone who may have seen parcels similar to that depicted to contact their local police,’ a statement from NSW Police reads.
‘The packages recovered so far have had significant barnacle growth covering the outer plastic wrapping.
‘Police are keen to warn the public against removing or opening any of the packages.’
Police have urged residents not to touch any suspicious items
Police, who are working close with Surf Life Saving NSW, are continuing to search NSW beaches and have urged anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Last year, Sydney was revealed as the cocaine capital of Australia.
The National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) found an average of 910mg of cocaine was being consumed everyday by every one in 1,000 Sydneysiders, the highest amount in the country.
In December, 2021, the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research found a post-Covid record of 275 people were arrested statewide for cocaine possession.
The majority of Sydney’s cocaine-related arrests were made in the city’s CBD and eastern suburbs with Randwick and Waverley taking the bulk of the arrests.
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