More than $1 million worth of cocaine washed up on shore in the Florida Keys after Hurricane Debbie pounded the Big Bend of Mexico’s Gulf Coast on Monday morning, authorities said.
Debby made landfall in the early morning as a Category 1 hurricane, with winds exceeding 80 mph, and carried more than two dozen packets of cocaine weighing 70 pounds each, according to the U.S. Border Patrol.
“Hurricane Debby blew 25 boxes of cocaine, or 70 pounds, onto the beaches of the Florida Keys,” said U.S. Border Patrol Acting Superintendent Samuel Briggs II. said in a social media post..
Briggs shared a photo of a taped-up block of cocaine with a glowing red triangular symbol on it.
He said the drug has a street value of more than $1 million.
In a photo posted in response to Briggs’ post, beachgoers found the drugs wrapped in a garbage bag among seaweed, leaves and other debris that had washed up on shore.
The man contacted authorities about the washed up goods, and the US Border Patrol seized the valuable items.
Blocks of cocaine and other drugs frequently wash up on South Florida beaches and in the surrounding waters as smugglers move illegal drugs from South America into the United States.
In June, beachgoers searching for sea turtle nests on the north Florida coast accidentally discovered a haul of cocaine worth $4 million.
The discovery surprised police, who said it is unusual for drugs to wash up in Nassau County, which is much further north than they usually do.
Meanwhile, Debby, which has since weakened into a tropical storm, is expected to bring heavy rains and flooding as it moves north from Florida into Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for 61 counties in the state after more than 274,000 homes lost power.
At least four people were killed in the storm, including a 13-year-old boy who was killed when a tree fell on his home.
