Florida boaters looking for sea turtle nests find $1 million worth of cocaine

Recreational boaters sailing near the Florida Keys stumbled upon a staggering 65 pounds of cocaine bobbing in the ocean, officials said this week.

The boaters were searching for sea turtle nests when they found the package at around noon on Saturday, June 15. The find is the latest in a string of drug hauls discovered in US waters and along its coastlines.

Samuel Briggs II, the acting chief patrol agent for the US Border Patrol, announced that the seized cocaine is worth over $1 million on the streets. Briggs took to social media on Monday night to share footage of the confiscated drugs being carted off on a dolly. The Monroe County Sheriff's Office also weighed in on the incident via a social media update, stating that "mariners in a private vessel found a package containing approximately 21 individually wrapped kilograms of suspected cocaine."

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The narcotics were located around 7 miles from Islamorada, Florida, and were subsequently turned over to the US Border Patrol. A photograph issued by the sheriff's office displayed one of the suspected cocaine packages, which notably featured a bald eagle image.

This month has seen other significant underwater drug finds, with divers uncovering 25 kilograms of cocaine submerged roughly 100 feet below the surface off Key West. The sheriff's office released images of the haul, which included packages branded "Nike SB," complete with counterfeit versions of the famous sportswear logo.

In a strikingly similar incident the following day, an identical quantity of what is believed to be cocaine washed ashore on Dauphin Island, Alabama.

Last month, a beachcomber stumbled upon a staggering $1 million worth of cocaine washed up on the Florida Keys, as reported by CBS News Miami. The package, containing 65 pounds of the illicit drug, was confirmed by US Border Patrol agents.

Drug smugglers frequently transport cocaine through the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico using an array of vessels, often marking their packages with unique designs for identification.

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Earlier this year in January, the Colombian navy intercepted a so-called narco sub packed with over 1,000 pounds of cocaine in the Pacific Ocean. Many of these parcels bore the distinctive insignia of a scorpion.

In 2023, several Florida beaches became the unexpected landing spots for cocaine packages worth more than $100,000. Each package sported a different design, one of which seemed to imitate the Chanel logo.

Last year, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, while enjoying a fishing trip with her family, hooked in a whopping 70 pounds of cocaine. These bricks of narcotics were marked with butterfly designs.