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Hurricane Debby Washes $1 Million Worth Of Cocaine Onto Florida Beach

Rain Storms Inundate Southern Florida

Image not from story (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Mariane Angela News Reporter
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U.S. Border Patrol acting chief patrol Agent Samuel announced on social media Hurricane Debby washed $1 million worth of cocaine onto a Florida beach Monday.

Over $1 million worth of cocaine washed ashore in the Florida Keys following the havoc wreaked by Hurricane Debby, a Category 1 storm struck the Gulf Coast’s Big Bend area. The U.S. Border Patrol reported that the hurricane’s powerful winds, reaching over 80 miles per hour, carried ashore 25 packages, each weighing 70 pounds, of cocaine.

“Hurricane Debby blew 25 packages of cocaine (70 lbs.) onto a beach in the Florida Keys. Good Samaritan discovered the drugs & contacted authorities. U.S. Border Patrol seized the drugs, which have a street value of over $1 million dollars,” Briggs wrote on Twitter, sharing images of the taped-up bricks marked with a distinct glowing red triangular symbol.

The drugs were found by a beachgoer who noticed them among the seaweed, leaves and other debris washed up on the beach, all concealed within a trash bag, according to the New York Post. After the discovery, the individual contacted the authorities, leading to the seizure of the narcotics by the US Border Patrol.

This incident is part of a broader pattern where bricks of cocaine and other illegal drugs frequently wash up on the beaches of southern Florida, a region known for its role in the trafficking routes from South America to the U.S., New York Post reported. In a related incident in June, a person looking for sea turtle nests on a north Florida beach stumbled upon cocaine bricks valued at $4 million, highlighting the ongoing challenge posed by drug smuggling in coastal areas. (RELATED: Hurricane Debby Brings Life-Threatening Forecasts To US)

Hurricane Debby has since been downgraded to a tropical storm and is expected to continue causing significant rain and flooding as it progresses northward through Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, the outlet reported. In response to the storm’s widespread impact, Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis  declared a state of emergency in 61 counties with over 274,000 households experiencing power outages.

The hurricane already claimed at least four lives, including a 13-year-old boy who died when a tree fell onto his family’s home, according to the New York Post.