Residents of Galveston and Jamaica Beach in Texas received an unexpected Easter surprise on Sunday when they learned that packages of cocaine had been washing up on nearby beaches.
On Sunday, law enforcement issued a warning to residents that bundles of suspected narcotics had been found on the West End beach.
Police believe that the drugs were likely dumped overboard by the crew of a smuggling ship, which had been raided by drug enforcement officers. According to investigators, the crew tossed packages overboard in an attempt to avoid capture.
Several of the packages were caught by ocean currents, which deposited them on the nearby beaches.
Police urged the public to contact police immediately if they find anything unusual during their beach visits.
It’s not the first time packages of cocaine have washed up on the shores of coastal communities.
Last year, more than 100 pounds of narcotics were discovered along Florida’s shores in the wake of Hurricane Debby, according to ABC7.
On August 4, 2024, 25 packages of cocaine were found on a beach in Islamorada. The value of those packages was estimated at approximately $1 million, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Miami.
A week later, more than half a million dollars worth of cocaine was found floating near Everglades City in the Gulf. US Customs and Border Protection said the packages had been in the water for so long that barnacles had begun attaching themselves to the bundles.
Both stashes were found by good samaritans, who reported their findings to local police.
As in the case of the Texas cocaine discovery, smugglers running drugs often use boats to transport their contraband, but smugglers have also been known to use submarines as well. If the vessels sink — or a crew suspects they're about to be raided — they may dump their cargo, which then may wash up on shore.
Brian Townsend, a retired supervisory special agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration, told CNN that sometimes smugglers intentionally dump their cargo for later retrieval.
“Some smugglers intentionally drop bales of drugs wrapped in plastic or watertight containers into the sea at predetermined locations for later retrieval by other smugglers,” he said.
