A package containing 16 bricks of suspected cocaine was found on a beach in the Florida Keys by tourists, authorities revealed this week, marking yet another discovery of the drug on the state’s shores.
The package, which was found by guests of the Islands of Islamorada resort late Sunday morning, was turned over to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, as is standard procedure, according to a statement from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities did not specify how much the drugs weighed.
The sheriff’s office also released a photo of the cocaine, showing a package wrapped and taped with a picture featuring what looks like a dune buggy.
Monroe County Sheriff’s Office
Cocaine has been found at least five other times on or near the shores of Florida this year.
Earlier this month, authorities said that Hurricane Debby blew 25 packages of cocaine onto a beach in the Florida Keys. The U.S. Border Patrol said at the time that the drugs, which weighed about 70 pounds and worth over $1 million, was found by a good Samaritan.
In June, boaters off the coast of the Florida Keys found 65 pounds of cocaine floating in the ocean, and earlier that month, divers found 25 kilograms of cocaine about 100 feet underwater off Key West. The next day, 25 kilos of cocaine was found washed up on Dauphin Island, Alabama.
In May, a beachgoer found about $1 million worth of cocaine washed up along the Florida Keys, CBS News Miami reported.
In 2023, packages of cocaine worth more than $100,000 washed up on several Florida beaches. Also last year, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, while on a fishing trip with her family, reeled in 70 pounds of cocaine.
About 90% of cocaine consumed in North America comes from Colombia, according to researchers at the United Nations. Traffickers often try to smuggle the drugs over the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean with speedboats and semi-submersible vessels, which are also known as narco subs.
Sometimes, traffickers will dump the drugs into the water to evade detection by law enforcement or to be picked up by fellow smugglers. As Scientific American notes, cocaine dropped in the ocean can end up on shores after they are carried by currents or storms.