A Keys boater spotted a suspicious package. Here’s what 70 pounds of cocaine looks like

David Goodhue
·1 min read
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For the second time in four days, a large shipment of cocaine was found floating in the ocean off the Florida Keys.

A boater on Tuesday reported to the Coast Guard a suspicious package floating about 19 miles southeast of Long Key in the Middle Keys, said Petty Officer Nicole Groll, a Coast Guard spokeswoman.

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office picked up the drugs around 2:30 p.m., said Adam Linhardt, an agency spokesman.

He said the entire load contained about 70 pounds of cocaine, wrapped individually in plastic, and labeled with a green sticker with “100%” printed on the side, with a row of white stars below the writing.

On Saturday, a man reported to the sheriff’s office that he found a load of what turned out to be about 55 pounds of cocaine. It was floating about 50 miles offshore of Key West, Linhardt said.

That load consisted of individually wrapped bricks of cocaine with “XXX” decals stuck to them, according to the sheriff’s office.