A glance from a police officer investigating a suspected car theft has seen police seize more than $60,000 worth of heroin, knives, casino chips and cash outside a hotel in Melbourne's south-east.
Police from the operations response unit had a report from the public that two men appeared to be attempting to steal a car from a hotel carpark on the Princes Highway at Hallam around midnight on Tuesday.
When police arrived they spoke with a Cremorne man, aged 39, "who was acting suspiciously" although the car belonged to him.
One of the officers then glanced in the back of the car to discover a large chunk of tar-like substance, believed to be heroin, on the floor of the car.
The Cremorne man was arrested and his car thoroughly searched.
Police soon found three knives, cash, about $1200 in casino chips and a large amount of cigarettes they suspected were stolen.
The man faced an out-of-sessions hearing on Wednesday evening after being charged with trafficking a commercial quantity of drugs and possessing drug of dependence.
He has been remanded to appear at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday.
A man has been arrested after police found more than $60,000 worth of heroin, knives and cash in his car outside a hotel in Hallam. #9News pic.twitter.com/Bpm1V5p1US
— Nine News Melbourne (@9NewsMelb) January 3, 2017