Deputy Finds $700,000 Worth of Cocaine Floating in Ocean

It feels like we're living in a Cocaine Cowboys installment this week in South Florida. Why, just yesterday we had news of a yacht captain ferrying 600 pounds of coke from the Bahamas. Today, we have $700 K worth of yeyo just floating in a burlap sack...

By Deirdra Funcheon

October 10, 2013

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It feels like we're living in a Cocaine Cowboys installment this week in South Florida.

Why, just yesterday we had news of a yacht captain ferrying 600 pounds of coke from the Bahamas.

Today, we have $700 K worth of yeyo just floating in a burlap sack.

According to a police report from the Broward Sheriff's Office, at 11 a.m. Sunday, while most of us were at church or brunch, a deputy who's usually on manatee patrol had an eventful day:

Deputy James "Brad" Lemieux spotted a burlap bag floating in the ocean a mile offshore, between the Dania Beach Pier and the Port Everglades Inlet. Lemieux, who initially thought it was a trunk due to its rectangular shape, found the bag stuffed with 25 individual packages, which field tested positive for cocaine.

The twenty-five kilos were taken to BSO's Crime Lab and will be turned over to the Drug Enforcement Agency. BSO investigators said the estimated value of one kilo is approximately $28,000.

BSO Marine Patrol Unit Sgt. Joseph Capua said in a statement, "If anyone comes across a suspicious package on the beach or floating in the water, you are encouraged to call 911."

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