$450,000 of cocaine found washed up on Alabama beach one day after divers found same amount off Key West
Authorities say 25 kilograms of suspected cocaine was found washed up on an Alabama beach — just one day after divers discovered the same amount of the drugs off the coast of Florida.
The Mobile County Sheriff's Office said the cocaine, packaged in individual bundles, was found Thursday on the west side of Dauphin Island, CBS affiliate WKRG-TV reported. The 55 pounds of drugs had an estimated street value of $450,000.
An image released by the sheriff's office showed 25 packages of the suspected drugs, some of them with a "%" sticker on the front.
The sheriff's office said the Dauphin Island Police Department contacted them after the apparent drugs were spotted on the beach. Detectives did not find any additional packages but are continuing to monitor the area, WKRG reported.
The discovery came just one day after scuba divers exploring the waters off Key West, Florida, found 25 kilograms of suspected cocaine. The packages were located about 100 feet underwater in the Atlantic Ocean, officials said. The stash was turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol.
Also last week, the U.S. Coast Guard said it offloaded more than 4,800 pounds of cocaine worth over $63 million at a port in Florida after Coast Guard officers fired at and sank a speedboat suspected of smuggling drugs in the Caribbean Sea.
Drug traffickers routinely transport cocaine through waters in the Gulf Coast and Caribbean Sea and it's not uncommon for narcotics to be found washed up on or near U.S. beaches.
Just last month, a beachgoer found about $1 million worth of cocaine washed up along the Florida Keys, CBS Miami reported.
In 2023, packages of cocaine worth more than $100,000 washed up on several Florida beaches. Also last year, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, while on a fishing trip with her family, reeled in 70 pounds of cocaine.
In January 2023, nearly 150 pounds of packaged cocaine washed up on Big Pine Key, Florida, and in 2019, bricks of cocaine were discovered on two beaches after Hurricane Dorian slammed into the Sunshine State.
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- Alabama
- Drug Trafficking
- Cocaine
Stephen Smith is a managing editor for CBSNews.com based in New York. A Washington, D.C. native, Steve was previously an editorial producer for the Washington Post, and has also worked in Los Angeles, Boston and Tokyo.
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