Bricks of cocaine washed up on a Florida beach. Here’s why it keeps happening : NPR

A package containing 16 bricks of suspected cocaine was discovered by guests on a beach in the Florida Keys, according to authorities.

In a Facebook post, the Monroe County, Fla., Sheriff’s Office said the package was discovered Sunday by guests of the Islands of Islamorada resort, a resort nearly 80 miles outside Miami. The package, wrapped in blue tape with a photo of a beach buggy on the front, was turned over to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection for further inspection.

It is unclear what the estimated street value of the suspected drugs is or if there were additional drugs that were discovered along the beach by authorities.

It’s not the first time suspected drugs have washed ashore on Florida beaches this year.

Earlier this month, more than 100 pounds of cocaine worth $1 million washed up on a beach in the Florida Keys in the aftermath of Hurricane Debby. The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) in Miami reported that the storm blew ashore 25 packages of cocaine totaling up to 70 pounds onto a beach in the Florida Keys.

According to the CBP, a good Samaritan alerted authorities after coming across the packages.

And, near Everglades City, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office discovered a package containing more than half a million dollars worth of cocaine. In a Facebook post, Sheriff Kevin Rambosk said boaters discovered a 56-pound package of cocaine floating in the mangroves off Panther Key.

The package contained 25 individually wrapped kilograms of cocaine and had an estimated street value of $625,000, according to authorities.

Why does this keep happening?

Cocaine that is dropped in the ocean by drug traffickers can often be washed ashore, thanks to currents, hurricanes or tropical storms, a 2023 report by Scientific American said.

Drug traffickers also sometimes drop drugs from private aircraft to ships at sea, which is another way to get drugs into the U.S. and in states like Florida, according to the Justice Department.

To avoid getting caught by law enforcement, traffickers will often throw their drug packages into the ocean for other smugglers to collect and bring forth to the U.S.

Researchers with the United Nations say that approximately 90% of cocaine that is consumed in North America comes from Colombia, with less than 2% coming from Peru and the rest from other parts of South America.

The drugs dropped in the ocean can also impact wildlife

Scientists are concerned that this method of drug trafficking is severely affecting wildlife — particularly sharks.

Scientists in Brazil have come up with the first evidence that sharks are being exposed to cocaine.

Rachel Ann Hauser Davis, a biologist who worked on the study at Brazil’s Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, told NPR in July that they dissected 13 wild sharpnose sharks caught near Rio de Janeiro. All the sharks tested positive for cocaine in both their muscles and livers.

“The key findings of the study are the presence of cocaine in sharks,” Hauser Davis said. “The actual high levels of cocaine detected in muscle is indicative of chronic exposure.”

Hauser Davis noted that cocaine affects the brain and could lead to hyperactive behavior among sharks.