More than $1 million worth of cocaine washed up on a beach in the Florida Keys after Hurricane Debby battered the Gulf Coast’s Big Bend on Monday morning, according to officials.

Hurricane Debby, which made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane early Monday, carried more than two dozen 70-pound packages of cocaine ashore as winds topped 80 miles per hour, U.S. Border Patrol reported.

“Hurricane Debby blew 25 packages of cocaine (70 lbs.) onto a beach in the Florida Keys,” U.S. Border Patrol Acting Chief Patrol Agent Samuel Briggs II said in a social media post. Briggs shared photos of the taped-up bricks of cocaine, each marked with a glowing red triangular symbol. He stated that the drugs have a street value exceeding $1 million.

The drugs were discovered by a beachgoer, wrapped inside a trash bag amidst seaweed, leaves, and other debris washed ashore. The man promptly contacted authorities, and U.S. Border Patrol seized the packages.

Bricks of cocaine and other drugs frequently wash up on southern Florida beaches and surrounding waters as smugglers transport the illegal substances from South America to the U.S. In June, a beachgoer in north Florida found $4 million worth of cocaine bricks while searching for sea turtle nests. This discovery, which occurred in Nassau County, stunned law enforcement due to its unusual location far north of the typical wash-up spots.

Meanwhile, Debby, now downgraded to a tropical storm, continues to bring heavy rain and flooding as it moves north from Florida towards Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency in 61 counties, with more than 274,000 households losing power.

The storm has claimed at least four lives, including a 13-year-old boy who was tragically killed when a tree collapsed onto his family’s home.

Credit: New York Post