Sydney's known for its beaches, so it's no surprise that here at Time Out Sydney, we post a whole heap of stories about our shorelines. From globally-recognised stretches of sand to bioluminescent water to reports rating the best (and worst) behaved beach goers, we’ve covered it all. But this might be the first time we’ve written a story about class-A drugs washing up on Sydney’s sand. But there’s a first time for everything.
A reported 250kg of cocaine has washed up on beaches across NSW since December 2023, including five enormous bricks of the illicit substance that were found on the shoreline of Sydney’s Northern Beaches (at Freshwater and North Curl Curl) only this month.
The first reported discovery of cocaine on NSW's shorelines was back in December 2023, when a large, barnacle-covered package was discovered on Magenta Beach, on the Central Coast, by a local beachgoer (yes, they did report it to the police).
That initial discovery prompted an investigation, which led to the discovery of a further three packages at Avoca Beach (also on the Central Coast), Blacksmiths (a town further north) and at Sydney’s very own Manly.
And while the enormous bricks are the ones that most capture the public attention (their street value is estimated at around $1 million), plenty of smaller packages are finding their way onto our beaches, too. The team investigating the issue are also concerned that loose cocaine may be finding its way into our oceans.
So what’s the deal? According to Macquarie University’s Dr Vincent Hurley, a lecturer in the Department of Security Studies and Criminology, these illicit finds are likely making their way onto our shores from large container ships. While some of the packages are concealed within the ships, Dr Hurley told the Guardian that some more covert (and environmentally risky) tactics are employed, including securing large cocaine parcels to the hulls of ships, without crews ever being made aware. While it’s possible (and alarmingly common) for containers to fall off ships, the covert, external cargo approach makes it far more likely for packages to rupture and find themselves stray in the ocean.
And while the recent NSW drug reform means that Sydneysiders no longer find themselves in court for possession of small drug quantities, drug use (and particularly trafficking) remains a big issue in this country. An Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission report released recently revealed Australians spent $12.4 billion on cocaine, MDMA, heroin and methylamphetamine in the year up to August 2023. There's a particularly big appetite for cocaine here in Sydney – in fact, almost half of the 4.037 tonnes of cocaine taken by people in Australia was taken in NSW. According to the ABC, the mark-up on cocaine in Australia is “significantly higher than anywhere else in the world” – explaining why traffickers are going to extreme lengths to get it onto Australian soil (and sand).
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