Cocaine worth over $1 million washes ashore in Florida Keys after Hurricane Debby

More than $1 million worth of cocaine washed up on a beach in the Florida Keys after Hurricane Debby battered the Gulf Coast’s Big Bend on Monday morning, officials said. 

Debby, which made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane, carried over two dozen 70-pound packages of cocaine ashore as winds topped 80 miles per hour, according to the US Border Patrol.

“Hurricane Debby blew 25 packages of cocaine (70 lbs.) onto a beach in the Florida Keys,” US Border Patrol acting chief patrol Agent Samuel Briggs II announced on social media.

He shared photos of the taped-up bricks of cocaine, which featured a glowing red triangular symbol. 

The drugs have a street value exceeding $1 million.

A beachgoer discovered the drugs wrapped inside a trash bag among seaweed, leaves, and other debris that washed up on the beach. 

The individual contacted authorities, and the US Border Patrol seized the valuable packages.

Bricks of cocaine and other drugs frequently wash up on southern Florida beaches and surrounding waters as smugglers traffic the illegal substances from South America to the US. 

In June, a beachgoer in north Florida stumbled upon $4 million worth of cocaine bricks while searching for sea turtle nests.

Meanwhile, Debby, now downgraded to a tropical storm, is expected to bring heavy rain and flooding as it moves north from Florida to Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency in 61 counties, with over 274,000 households losing power. 

The storm has claimed at least four lives, including a 13-year-old boy crushed by a falling tree.