Lost something? Almost 150 pounds of pot found off the Florida Keys since August
Since August, almost 150 pounds of marijuana has either been found floating off the Florida Keys or washed up onshore, federal officials said this week.
On Friday, local residents found 8 pounds of marijuana washed up near Ramrod Key in the Lower Keys, said Assistant Chief Patrol Agent Adam Hoffner of the U.S. Border Patrol’s Miami Sector.
On Aug. 17, boaters south of Key Colony Beach in the Middle Keys found 130 pounds of pot floating in the ocean, Hoffner said.
The drugs were packaged in 16 bundles, and Hoffner said the estimated street value of marijuana was nearly $260,000.
In both instances, the people who found the drugs reported it to authorities and the contraband was turned over to the Border Patrol.
“We appreciate the community’s support to our border security mission,” Hoffner said in a statement.
The large find in August came less than a month after someone found more than 50 pounds of cocaine washed up on the coast near Grassy Key in the Middle Keys. That haul had an estimated street value of $884,000, federal officials say.
And, on July 1, 29 bricks of cocaine, valued at more than $1 million, was found washed up near Marathon, the Border Patrol reported.
This story was originally published September 15, 2020 at 7:45 AM.
