Oz cops explain 253kg of cocaine on beaches

NSW cops have recovered 253 1-kg packages of cocaine since the first appeared on Magenta Beach on December 22. The reason cocaine worth tens of millions is washing onto NSW beaches is explained by cops as a "mother-daughter vessel transfer" gone wrong. Cops say the tactic is nothing new.

The mark-up on cocaine in Australia is much higher than anywhere else in the world. A kilo of cocaine in Sydney was $300k to $350k. It was said to be $170k recently, low by Australian standards.

It's likely the cocaine was attached to the hull of a "mother" cargo ship, and it dislodged at some point, or was lost by a recovery vessel.