Boaters in the Florida Keys discovered around 65 pounds of cocaine, with an estimated street value of more than $1 million, over the weekend, authorities said.
The Monroe County Sheriff's Office said the boaters, who were in a private recreational vessel, found approximately 21 individually wrapped packages of suspected cocaine at around noon on Saturday.
The packages, which were found about seven miles off the ocean side of Islamorada, were wrapped with labels featuring an image of a bald eagle.
An additional block of cocaine was found Wednesday by a person removing trash at a beach near Mile Marker 92 on the oceanside in Key Largo, according to Local10.
The sheriff's office said the drugs were turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol.
Samuel Briggs, the Acting Chief Patrol Agent for the Border Patrol's Miami Sector, shared a video on X, formerly Twitter, of authorities taking custody of the cocaine.
Briggs said the cocaine would be seized by the Border Patrol, and thanked good Samaritans in the community for turning it in.
A boater in the Florida Keys has found nearly two dozen packages of cocaine, according to the @keyssheriff. The 21 packages, each adorned with a picture of an eagle, weigh 2.2 pounds, and were discovered on Saturday about seven miles off Islamorada. https://t.co/kCGKYPHDaR pic.twitter.com/IwTh0j6Edg
— Florida Sheriffs Association (@FLSheriffs) June 20, 2024
--with reporting by TMX
