Islamorada, FL - A group of tourists in the Florida Keys made a startling discovery on Sunday when they stumbled upon a package containing 16 bricks of suspected cocaine.
According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the package was found at the Islands of Islamorada resort and quickly turned over to authorities, marking the latest in a series of cocaine finds along Florida's shores.
The Monroe County Sheriff's Office released a statement on Monday confirming the incident and shared a photo of the cocaine, which was wrapped and taped with an image of a dune buggy.
Authorities did not disclose the weight of the drugs.
The discovery of cocaine in the Florida Keys has become increasingly common in recent years.
Earlier this month, following Hurricane Debbie, 25 packages of cocaine worth a reported $1,000,000 were discovered on a beach.
According to researchers at the United Nations, the majority of cocaine consumed in North America originates from Colombia, and traffickers frequently attempt to smuggle the drug through the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean using speedboats and semi-submersible vessels.
In some cases, traffickers will dump cocaine into the ocean to evade detection, only for it to be carried ashore by currents or storms.