On Monday, hurricane Debby made landfall in Florida and brought with itself high winds and torrential rains as well as some unexpected gifts- 25 packages of tightly wrapped cocaine that were worth more than a staggering $1 million.
“Hurricane Debby blew 25 packages of cocaine weighing 70 pounds into a beach in the Florida Keys,” U.S. Border Patrol Acting Chief Patrol Agent Samuel Briggs II posted on X.
A caller reported finding the valuable stash, which Briggs put at just over $1 million, prompting police to respond quickly according to AFP.
It is not the first time this has happened; during a holiday in July 2023, the Mayor of Tampa found similar volume (31.7 kg/70 lbs) of cocaine washed up on Florida Keys beaches.
Debby had hit Florida’s northern Big Bend region as a Category One hurricane before being downgraded to a tropical storm. This resulted in the bulk of it washing ashore along the southernmost shores of Florida Keys with traces only reaching certain places within Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties.
Debby did not just bring cocaine along but also claimed one person’s life thus plunging hundreds of thousands into darkness while it would cause life threatening storm surges and flooding that could be devastating.
The Florida Keys are located near several Caribbean countries responsible for most transit drugs trafficking from South America to Europe and North America particularly through or into Florida.Key Points
