The woman, who asked not to be identified, took the suspicious package to police and has been shaken by fears of an unintended and unpleasant brush with the drug trade.

The woman told The Daily Advertiser she bought the towel from Woolworths's Gurwood Street store on July 21.

Two days later, she pulled out the plastic ties that kept the towel folded and felt something hit her foot.

"I looked down and saw a plastic bag there," the woman said.

"I thought 'what the hell?'"

What she saw was a plastic bag made to hold tobacco sold by a company based in the Indian city of Hyderabad.

Picking up the bag, the woman could feel something lumpy inside.

"I opened it because I was curious," she said.

She found another, smaller, package inside containing a chunky white powder wrapped in what seemed to be cling wrap.

She immediately suspected the powder was an illegal drug and telephoned her father, who told her to take the bags to police.

Driving to the police station, the woman worried about what would happen if she was pulled over by police and the suspected drugs found in her possession.

"I was so paranoid about being pulled over," she said.

"It would have been a bit weird to say I found them in a towel from Woolworths.

"Who is going to believe I bought it from Woolies?"

After some discussion with an officer at the police station counter about what should be done with the package and what its contents were, the woman left it with police and has heard nothing since.

She said as a police officer handled the small package some of the cling wrap came loose and white powder fell onto the counter.

"I don't know if it was drugs, but it is obviously suspicious," the woman said.

"From watching television, the small bag looks similar to what you see."

The find unsettled the woman, who became afraid the plastic bag may have been slipped into the towel in the supermarket as part of a drug deal.

She was frightened she might have been followed home either by the person who slipped the bag into the towel or the intended recipient.

"I have spoken to a lot of people about it, and it apparently happened at Young before," she said.

The woman said she did not report the find to Woolworths.

The Advertiser asked Woolworths for comment, including if there was closed circuit television footage, and was told: "As this has been referred to police this is a matter for them."

Police confirmed the woman had handed in the items.

They said an onsite visual inspection of the substance indicated it was a product freshener with a perfumed scent.

"There is no indication it was a prohibited drug, and the item was disposed of accordingly," police said.