Cocaine worth $61 million concealed in ship's hull

Organised crime groups are smuggling illicit drugs by hiding them in the hull of cargo ships. (HANDOUT/AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE)

A shipment of cocaine worth $61 million has been found hidden inside the hull of a cargo ship, in an emerging smuggling trend.

The ship arrived at the Port of Melbourne from South America on October 7, with a suspicious attachment identified on its hull below the waterline.