An unexpected shipment of cocaine, estimated to be valued at nearly $2 million, washed up on a beach in New Zealand.

Police said that 19 packages containing cocaine washed up on the shore of Bethells Beach in West Auckland, New Zealand.

Locals first spotted the packages, wrapped in netting and plastic, on the beach, The New Zealand Herald reported. The presence of shells inside the netting indicated that the packages were out at sea for an extended period of time.

Each was the size of a VHS tape and labeled with an insignia that some locals told Television New Zealand they first believed was a label for Dom Perignon Champagne.

As a result, some believed they had stumbled upon a wealth of Champagne.

"There’s no kind of seedy underworld that we know of here," local resident Leah MacFayden told Television New Zealand. "This is a place where people come for quiet walks on the beach and to experience the wildlife and local scenery."

Detective Inspector Colin Parmenter told the Herald that police were contacted after the packages washed up.

"There is a small possibility that further packages may turn up on the beach and we ask any members of the public to contact us immediately if they do," Parmenter said in a statement, according to the Herald.

Samples of wastewater in New Zealand gathered last year by New Zealand police found that drug use may be prevalent, mainly for methamphetamines and MDMA. Abou1.5 pounds of cocaine are used weekly in New Zealand, according to the samples.

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