Cocaine shipment worth $61 million concealed in ship's hull in Melbourne

A 154kg shipment of cocaine worth $61 million has been seized by police from the hull of a cargo ship in Melbourne.

The shipment containing a "suspicious attachment" arrived at the Port of Melbourne from South America on October 7.

Specialist divers found four packages below the waterline, along with a tracking device, wrapped in plastic on the ship's hull.

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Police believe the packages could have equated to about 77,0000 street deals worth $61 million.

Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers seized the illicit drugs, launching an investigation to identify the source of the cocaine and its intended destination.

The area of the ship was not accessible to general crew on the ship.

It is the second attempt to import drugs into Melbourne in recent months, after police seized 200kg of cocaine from the hull of another ship in August.

AFP Assistant Commissioner Hilda Sirec said officers were closely tracking the rising tactic among organised crime groups.

"My message to organised crime is that your modus operandi is busted. We know when illicit drugs are coming in and where they are stored," Sirec said.

"In the past two years alone, a number of high-profile alleged offenders have been deported or extradited to Australia to face serious illicit drug trafficking charges.

"Some of these offenders are facing sentences of life imprisonment."

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Sirec said the investigation remains ongoing.

"The focus of our ongoing investigation is identifying and locating the transnational serious organised crime groups responsible for this attempted import, and the people working for them in Australia to receive and distribute these drugs," she said.

Members of the public can report information anonymously to Crime Stoppers via 1800 333 000 and online.