Hurricane Debby deposits cocaine worth $1 million on Florida Keys beach

Border patrol agents recovered 25 packages of cocaine blown onto a Florida Keys beach by Hurricane Debby, which was downgraded to a tropical storm Monday.
A beachgoer found the packages at a beach in the archipelago and contacted authorities, according to Samuel Briggs II, the Acting Chief Patrol Agent of the U.S. Border Patrol’s Miami Sector. He shared a photo of the packages each with an identical red V-shaped logo displayed over a black rectangle.
The 70 pounds of the addictive drug had a street value of more than $1 million, Briggs wrote on X Monday.
USA TODAY has reached out to U.S. Border Patrol for further information.
A similar discovery was made last year by Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, who also reeled in 70 pounds of cocaine worth over $1 million at a Florida Keys beach. The former Tampa police chief said the bag with the drugs were floating in the water in July 2023, CBS affiliate WTSP reported.
“You know my family was concerned, like, ‘Oh my gosh, what if they think it’s ours,'” Castor told the station. “I’m like, come on. So, we pulled it up and then as soon as we were in cellphone range just to call and notify them.”
Hurricane Debby has killed at least four people as it ravages along the Big Bend coast of Florida.
The system was downgraded to tropical storm with sustained winds of 70 mph, the hurricane center said in mid-morning update Monday. Wind levels decreased to 65 mph as of 2 p.m. with heavy downpours prevailing.
The storm has caused severe flooding and widespread power outages in Florida and it is currently heading toward Georgia and South Carolina.
At 7 a.m. Monday, the Category 1 storm arrived near the coastal town of Steinhatchee with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph, the National Hurricane Center confirmed. The Taylor County town with a population of around 500 is about 10 miles from where Hurricane Idalia devastated communities last year.
Contributing: Susan Miller and Dinah Voyles Pulver