More than 140 pounds of cocaine washed up in the Florida Keys. How much is that worth?
.jpg "Dozens of bricks of cocaine are placed on a table in a law enforcement office in the Florida Keys Monday, Jan. 24, 2023. More than 140 pounds of cocaine were found in the Lower Keys earlier that day, county and federal officials said.")
Bundles of cocaine estimated to be worth about $2 million were found washed up in the Florida Keys, according to local and federal officials.
Two loads of the contraband were found Monday on Big Pine Key in the Lower Keys, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said. The sheriff’s office said the two hauls are worth “nearly $2 million” on the street, while the U.S. Border Patrol, which took possession of the drugs, puts the value at $2.3 million.
Civilians found the drugs in two separate instances between 3:30 p.m. and 6 p.m., said Adam Linhardt, sheriff’s office spokesman.
One load had three bundles, each containing 10 separate packages of cocaine, weighing a total of almost 75 pounds — found near the water on Long Beach Road, he said.
The other was found just off shore of Big Pine Key. It weighed about 70 pounds and consisted of 25 bundles, according to the sheriff’s office.
The wash-up happened as an increased federal, state and local law enforcement effort is underway in the Keys to deal with a mass maritime migrant exodus from Cuba and Haiti, with the archipelago being the most frequent destination.
Big PIne Key is about 30 miles from Key West. The Monroe County key is known for residential neighborhoods as well as the endangered Key deer and their national refuge.
