Hurricane Debby, which wreaked havoc across the Southeast last week, left behind a surprising and illegal souvenir: over 100 pounds of cocaine discovered along Florida’s shores, CNN reports.
On August 4, 25 packages of cocaine, weighing some 70 pounds, were found on a beach in Islamorada, Florida Keys. The drugs, with an estimated street value of over $1 million, were spotted by a Good Samaritan who alerted authorities.
Just a week later, on Monday, another batch of cocaine – weighing 56 pounds and valued at $625,000 – was found floating near Everglades City, in the Gulf of Mexico.
Boaters, once again acting as Good Samaritans, reported the discovery of a package, roughly the size of a microwave oven, containing 25 individually wrapped kilograms of cocaine. The barnacles covering the package suggested it had been in the water for some time, prompting comparisons to the “square grouper” marijuana smuggling days of the 1970s and 1980s in Collier County.
“We appreciate the help of Good Samaritans in our community who saw something unusual and contacted law enforcement,” said Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk.
Authorities believe the cocaine likely washed ashore from the east coast due to recent storms. Drug smugglers often use boats, submarines, and other vessels to transport narcotics into the US by sea. They may abandon the drugs in the water to avoid seizure if their vessels encounter issues like mechanical failures, severe weather, or law enforcement interdiction.
Brian Townsend, a retired DEA agent, explained that ocean currents and tides, particularly during storms like Debby, can carry the drugs far from their original drop points. This phenomenon has been witnessed along the South Texas shoreline and, more recently, in Alabama and northeastern Florida, where significant quantities of cocaine have washed ashore.
