A dead scuba diver found near more than 50kg of cocaine at a Newcastle shipping port has been identified as a foreign national.
The man was wearing sophisticated diving gear when he was found unresponsive on the banks of the Hunter River about 9.30am yesterday.
Workers at the port tried to give him CPR but he died at the scene.
It is believed he had been trying to retrieve drugs in the middle of the night and police think the package they found could be part of what could be a $100 million haul.
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A dead scuba diver found near more than 50kg of cocaine has been identified as a foreign national. (NSW Police)
NSW Police carry a package containing white powder, believed to be cocaine, to shore. (9News)
Police said they then found packages containing more than 50kg of white powder, with an estimated street value of $20 million near the South American container ship.
The ship, which had travelled from Argentina, arrived in Newcastle on Sunday evening, and later that night a rubber ducky and a tinny were seen travelling to it.
The vessel was carrying soybean powder and police are looking at whether the drugs were attached to the outside of it.
"There's evidently more people involved than the dead man," Superintendent Rob Critchlow said today.
"As most people would realise, people don't scuba dive alone.
"There's obviously safety protocols even with people involved in offending.
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A scuba diver was found dead on the banks of the Hunter River yesterday morning. (9News)
The dead scuba diver and suspected drugs were found in the vicinity of this large ship berthed in Newcastle. (9News)
"It was quite complicated, some of the devices they used and the presence of two boats indicate at least two other people.
"It's very concerning this man's been left for dead basically, either to die or when he did die, these people fled.
"So it's quite disgusting … regardless of what he was involved in."
The dead man was wearing highly-technical diving gear including breathing equipment that doesn't emit any bubbles.
The man and suspected drugs were found "in the immediate vicinity". (NSW Police)
Police said they found packages containing more than 50kg of a white powder believed to be cocaine. (NSW Police Force)
Critchlow asked anyone who sold dive gear in the area to contact police.
"The man was wearing scuba equipment - including a wetsuit, the Sharkskin brand - which was possibly purchased within Australia," he said.
"We would ask anyone from dive shops who may have sold a set of diving equipment to a person in the last few days to contact us.
"The equipment was of note. It was a high-end rebreather, which is a specialised piece of diving equipment used by people with high levels of training."