Around 23 packages of cocaine, with an estimated street value of $700,000, were discovered by fishermen near 12 Mile Bank last week. The find follows the discovery earlier this month of a similar quantity of cocaine on an East End beach.
Detectives say there is no immediate evidence to link the two drug shipments.Fishermen reported finding the 23 individually wrapped packages floating in the water close to 12 Mile Bank.
The police marine unit inspected the packages on site and brought them to shore to be forensically examined. The cocaine was destroyed in an incinerator along with the drugs found in East End earlier in the month.
Detective Superintendent Robert Scotland of the Drugs and Serious Crime Task Force said, “There is no evidence at this time to connect the drugs found near the 12 Mile Bank with those found in East End. However, U.S. law enforcement were notified of the recent finds and the information was shared, with a view of identifying possible origins and destinations.”
The police commended the anglers who turned in the cocaine, saying they acted responsibly by reporting the find to the relevant authorities.
Police have previously warned that anyone who finds drugs washed ashore or in the water has an obligation to alert police. Anyone who keeps such drug finds is liable to prosecution for possession with intent to supply.
Drugs have been found washed ashore on 26 occasions since January 2013. In total, 60 kilos (130 pounds) of cocaine and 90 kilos (200 pounds) of marijuana, potentially worth more than $5 million, have been found and turned in to police.
Traffickers using the Caribbean Sea as a transit route from South and Central America to lucrative U.S. markets are thought to be responsible for the bulk of the lost contraband.
