Around $2M worth of cocaine washes up on New Zealand beach: report

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Approximately $2 million worth of cocaine washed up on a New Zealand beach on Wednesday, leading authorities to search the area for more of the contraband.

A local resident found the illicit drug wrapped in blue packages scattered about Bethells Beach west of Auckland and notified police, the New Zealand Herald reported.

Around $2 million worth of cocaine was found on a beach in northern New Zealand this week. (New Zealand Police)

After the packages tested positive for cocaine, authorities began a major search up and down the rugged coast.

Detective Inspector Colin Parmenter of Waitematä police urged the public to contact authorities if any more packages turn up on the beach.

A crime expert cited by The Guardian said the packages likely came from Peru or Columbia, where it could be purchased for around $7,500 per kilogram and sold in New Zealand for about $250,000 per kilogram.

COAST GUARD HAULS IN $350M WORTH OF COCAINE FROM MULTIPLE DRUG BUSTS IN INTERNATIONAL WATERS

“There is a huge mark-up and quite a big margin of profit to be made by these syndicates. So, they can definitely afford to lose consignments to the tune of $3 million,” said Jose Sousa-Santos, a Pacific crime researcher at New Zealand’s Massey University.

Parmenter said authorities would be patrolling the shore for the next few days to see if other items wash up.

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Late last month, the U.S. Coast Guard offloaded more than 26,000 pounds of cocaine -- worth an estimated $350 million – in San Diego as part of a weeks-long operation in international waters.

Fox News' Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.