More than a quarter of a billion dollars worth of cocaine has been found concealed on a cargo ship that is now docked in Tauranga.

Police are seeking information about the criminal syndicate responsible for a 700-kilogram cocaine importation found hidden on a cargo ship at Sydney's Port Botany.

Australian Border Force officers discovered the drugs on July 22 during an inspection of shipping containers on the container ship Maersk Inverness - arrived in Tauranga on August 4 - which had docked a day earlier.

The haul was found packaged in denim bags inside a shipping container described as containing wood products.

AFP investigators later seized 28 denim bags, each holding about 25kg of cocaine in brick form.

Forensic examination of the drugs identified different emblems on the bricks of cocaine, including the numerals ‘5' and ‘365' and the word ‘Netflix'.

Preliminary enquiries on the ship have been completed, and the vessel has been allowed to continue its journey.

AFP Detective Inspector Luke Wilson says the container ship had stopped at ports in Central and South America before making its way to Australia.

'We are still investigating where the drugs were loaded and who was planning to collect them in Australia.

'The interception of this amount of drugs would be a significant blow to a well-resourced syndicate, and prevents millions of dollars of drug profit flowing back into the syndicate to fund their lavish lifestyles or next criminal venture.

'The AFP estimates this seizure has saved the community more than $451 million in drug-related harm, including associated crime, healthcare and loss of productivity.”

ABF Detained Goods NSW Superintendent Joanne Yeats outlined the ABF's role in disrupting the criminal network's supply of drugs into our community

'This seizure demonstrates the technical expertise of our dedicated ABF officers who made the initial detection and stopped this large shipment of cocaine from entering our community,” says Superintendent Yeats.

'We continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure the Australian community is kept safe from the importation of dangerous drugs.”

Purchasers on Australia's east coast can pay up to $400,000 for a kilogram of cocaine depending on availability and purity, with this amount of cocaine representing at least $280 million dollars.

Anyone with information about this matter is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

In New Zealand, information can be reported to Crime Stoppers via 0800 555 111.

Non-emergency information can also be phoned into the New Zealand Police by calling 105.

Alternatively, information can be reported to your local police station.