Mysterious packages washing up in Florida could be ‘extremely harmful,’ cops say

Beachgoers along the Florida Panhandle are being warned not to touch “suspicious packages” they see rolling out of the water.

On Sunday, June 29, more than two dozen packages were discovered on a Walton County beach, and closer inspection revealed they were bricks of cocaine worth approximately $500,000, the Walton County Sheriff’s Office says.

“The packages were found by a woman who was walking with her family near Whale’s Tale in Miramar Beach,” the sheriff’s office told McClatchy News. “The total weight of the drugs was around 70 pounds. There is no way to know where the packages came from.”

A photo shared by the department shows the packages were vacuum packed and sported images of the cartoon outlaw Yosemite Sam.

The bricks were confiscated, “logged into evidence,” and federal agencies were alerted, officials said.

“While enjoying our beautiful beaches, if you come across any square groupers, please call us immediately and do not touch suspicious packages. The contents could be extremely harmful,” the sheriff’s office said.

Investigators did not speculate about how the packages ended up in the water.

“Given Florida’s long history as an entry point for drug smuggling, it’s likely the drugs were jettisoned while being transported from the Caribbean or Cuba into the United States,” Recovery First Treatment Center reported after similar discoveries in 2021.

The jettison could have been done by the crew to avoid arrest, but drug gangs have also been known to drop cocaine in the sea “to be picked up by smaller boats and brought to shore,” BBC reports.

Miramar Beach is about an 85-mile drive east from Pensacola.

This story was originally published June 30, 2025 at 6:19 AM with the headline "Mysterious packages washing up in Florida could be ‘extremely harmful,’ cops say."