Four backpacks containing roughly 80 kg of cocaine have been confiscated after washing ashore in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, police said Thursday.
The drugs, with a street value of ¥4.8 billion, were divided into 78 packets wrapped in paper and plastic when they were found on the beach Tuesday morning.
The backpacks were attached to a float and plastic bottles containing glow sticks, leading police to believe they were thrown overboard after a drug deal failed at sea.
A fisherman living nearby found the coke-filled backpacks and called the police, tipping them to one of the biggest drug hauls in Japanese history.
"I found these while I was picking up garbage on the beach. I can't believe it was cocaine," he said.