Earth News from TerraDaily.com
Hurricane Debby blows $1 mn in cocaine onto Florida beach
Miami, Aug 5 (AFP) Aug 05, 2024
Hurricane Debby landed in Florida Monday bringing high winds, pouring rain -- and 25 tightly wrapped packages of cocaine worth more than $1 million.

Debby, which hit the state's northern Big Bend region as a Category One hurricane but has since been downgraded to a tropical storm, washed the trove of drugs ashore along Florida's southernmost tip.

"Hurricane Debby blew 25 packages of cocaine (70 lbs.) onto a beach in the Florida Keys," US Border Patrol acting chief patrol Agent Samuel Briggs II wrote on X.

The load of drugs, which Briggs reported was valued at more than $1 million, was discovered by a good Samaritan who contacted the authorities.

In July of 2023, the mayor of Tampa, Florida similarly discovered 70 pounds (31.7 kilograms) of cocaine that had been washed ashore in the Florida Keys, while enjoying a vacation day.

In addition to bringing cocaine, Debby has killed one person, knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of people, and could produce life-threatening storm surges as well as catastrophic flooding.

The Keys, a string of islands stretching off the state's southern tip, are located in close proximity to a number of Caribbean countries that serve as a transit hub for cocaine being trafficked from South America to Europe and North America, including into Florida.





Space News from SpaceDaily.com
Delft and Brown researchers unveil ultrathin sails for laser propulsion in space
Mainland Europe's first orbital rocket launch postponed
NASA's Curiosity Rover Detects Largest Organic Molecules Found on Mars

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Chinese EV giant BYD surpasses rival Tesla with record 2024 revenue
Trump to impose sharp tariffs on countries buying Venezuelan oil
Space Solar teams with MagDrive to boost in-orbit solar power systems

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
SpaceX launches classified payload from Florida for Defense Department
US, Russia in Ukraine ceasefire talks as 65 wounded in latest strike
Iran says open to indirect nuclear talks with US

24/7 News Coverage
SeaPerch: A robot with a mission
NASA's EZIE Satellites Confirm Operational Status in Early Mission Phase
Amplified warming risks from long-term climate and carbon feedbacks


ADVERTISEMENT



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.