This was not your typical catch of the day. A Charlotte County sheriff’s deputy fishing off Florida’s west coast made a rare find. The deputy –whose identity has not been released –found 50 pounds of cocaine, worth millions, floating in the Gulf of Mexico.
Officials say the deputy was off-duty and fishing just 25 miles off of Englewood Beach when he made the discovery. The sheriff told WBBH News that the 25 bricks of cocaine could be worth up to $12 million once they are cut.
Now they are looking into where this bale came from, where it was going and who may be looking for it. But one longtime boater in the area told a local reporter that the search for the source of this big payload could prove difficult.
Ralph Allen, of Punta Gorda, says he was boating just minutes away from the scene. “It could have just as easily been me,” he said.
“Anything that floats can get carried forever. You’ve all heard about ‘message in a bottle.’ Makes it clear across the ocean and shows up years later. Same thing applies to anything that floats,” Allen said.
Sheriff Bill Prummell said this type of find is very rare. “We know cocaine is out there, we know it’s coming in through the waterways but it’s not something we see on a regular basis,” Prummell said.
The U.S. Border Patrol is now working with the sheriff’s office to see if they can locate the drugs’ point of origin.
