/ CBS News
Tampa mayor discovers cocaine on fishing trip
Divers exploring the waters off Key West, Florida, found what they thought was garbage on the ocean floor — but it turned out to be more than two dozen individually wrapped packages of suspected cocaine, authorities said Wednesday.
Deputies responded to the Rainbow Reef Dive Center in Key Largo, where scuba divers reported finding what they believed to be trash, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office said in a statement on social media. Images released by the sheriff's office showed a ripped-open garbage bag next to packages marked "Nike SB," with imitations of the footwear brand's iconic swoosh logo on the front.
The 25 packages of suspected drugs, each weighing a kilogram, or 2.2 pounds, were located about 100 feet underwater in the Atlantic Ocean, officials said, and the stash was turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol.
The discovery comes about a month after after a beachgoer found about $1 million worth of cocaine washed up along the Florida Keys, CBS Miami reported. U.S. Border Patrol agents said that package contained 65 pounds of cocaine.
Drug traffickers routinely transport cocaine through international waters using a variety of vessels — and sometimes the packages are marked with distinctive designs.
In January, the Colombian Navy seized a so-called "narco sub" loaded with more than 1,000 pounds of cocaine in the Pacific Ocean, and many of the parcels featured an insignia of a scorpion. Others were marked "Winnie" and "Carnal."
Last year, packages of cocaine worth more than $100,000 washed up on several Florida beaches. Each package was marked with a different design, including one that appeared to mimic the Chanel logo, according to images posted on Facebook by the Walton County Sheriff's Office.
Last year, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, while on a fishing trip with her family, reeled in 70 pounds of cocaine. Those bricks of narcotics were emblazoned with butterfly designs.
In 2023, nearly 150 pounds of packaged cocaine washed up on Big Pine Key, and in 2019, bricks of cocaine were discovered on two beaches after Hurricane Dorian lashed the Florida coast.
Colombia produces more than half of the cocaine found in the world.
Stephen Smith is a managing editor for CBSNews.com based in New York. A Washington, D.C. native, Steve was previously an editorial producer for the Washington Post, and has also worked in Los Angeles, Boston and Tokyo.