Police have seized $6 million worth of cocaine in northern Tasmania in one of the state's biggest-ever drug busts.
An investigation between Tasmania Police and Australian Border Force uncovered 15 kilograms of cocaine in a shipping container at Bell Bay, near George Town, earlier this month after a tip-off.
Fifteen individually wrapped packages filled with a white powdered substance were found during a search of the shipping container.
Later tests confirmed they were filled with cocaine.
The shipping container arrived from Sydney but investigations into the origins and movements of the shipping container are continuing.
At this stage, no charges have been laid.
'Great result' to seize 15kgs
Detective Inspector Craig Fox said the seizure was "probably the biggest seizure of cocaine in Tasmania … by far".
"It's a significant seizure for Tasmania and, wherever that cargo was destined for, it's a great result to get 15 kilograms of cocaine off the street," he said.
"We're looking at all sorts of avenues of investigation to see where the container came from, who's had access to it throughout the world so it's quite a big operation and a big investigation."
Australian Border Force acting superintendent, Allister Keel, said it was likely the intended destination for the drugs was not Tasmania.
"We believe that the cocaine was intended to be extracted by criminals from the container in Sydney," Superintendent Keel said.
"The ABF were conducting high-visibility operations at Botany Bay, whilst the container was positioned there, before it was transported to Tasmania.
"Our presence, we believe, deterred the criminals from retrieving the cocaine.
"This detection highlights the ongoing threat of illegal drug importation, including the role that corrupted individuals, working within our international supply chain, can play in enabling this criminal behaviour."
Another major drug bust
It is the second major drug bust this month.
Two people were charged after a truck in Hobart's northern suburbs that had made a round trip to Victoria was found laden with kilograms of illegal drugs — cocaine, cannabis and ice.
At the time, police said the cocaine bust was one of the largest in Tasmania's history, with a street value for all the drugs between $700,000 and $1.2 million.
The latest drug bust is significantly more.
