More than $100,000 in cocaine washes up on 3 Florida Panhandle beaches in 1 day

Warren Kulo
AL
Tue, 04 Apr 2023 02:40 UTC

© Unknown/KJN

One of three packages of cocaine

More than $100,000 in cocaine washed ashore in the form of three packages found on separate Florida Panhandle beaches over a period of about 24 hours Monday and Tuesday.

According to the Walton County Sheriff's Office, the first call came Monday from Scenic Gulf Drive in Miramar Beach. A beachgoer reported finding a Ziploc bag, wrapped in clear plastic, and containing what appeared to be cocaine.

Later Monday, deputies were sent to the Gulfview Heights beach access about a suspicious package. This one appeared to be a brick of cocaine, wrapped in a biohazard bag with some sort of logo on it.

The package was taken to the WCSO's south substation, where it tested positive for cocaine.

Tuesday morning, a call came from Grayton Beach State Park regarding yet another brick of cocaine, this one wrapped with a different logo.

All three packages were submitted into evidence for destruction. The U.S. Coast Guard was notified of the finds and the WCSO's Vice/Narcotics Unit is also investigating.

Comment: More details emerge:

Community members commented on the sheriff's office post wondering if more drugs had been washed up without being turned in. Officials replied that while they hope that isn't the case, it is a possibility. They also responded to a person who suggested the presence of drugs may bring more people to local beaches.

"We hope not, considering the amount of fentanyl-laced drugs killing people across the country," the Sheriff's Office replied.

Drugs periodically wash up on the shores of Florida. Earlier this year, nearly 150 pounds of packaged cocaine washed up on Big Pine Key. In 2019, bricks of cocaine were discovered on two beaches after Hurricane Dorian lashed the Florida coast.