KEY WEST, Fla. — The Florida Keys are the state's iconic archipelago.
It offers locals and tourists more than 120 miles of scuba diving, snorkeling, fishing and serenity. The string of islands are teaming with wildlife.
This past weekend, though, they were teaming with a white powdery substance.
Somebody spotted more than $1 million worth of cocaine floating at sea – just off the Keys.
Chief Patrol Agent Thomas G. Martin is with U.S. Border Patrol’s Miami Sector, which safeguards that region. He says the floating package had almost 69 pounds of coke.
The U.S. Coast Guard worked with Border Patrol to recover the massive haul of drugs. A photo posted by Martin shows the bags stacked on top of each other.
For fiscal year 2021, Border Patrol reports it seized 97,638 pounds of cocaine nationwide. That accounted for more than 37 percent of drug busts.
