Galveston’s West End woke up to more than seaweed and shells on Tuesday morning when 27 individually wrapped bricks of what police later confirmed was cocaine washed onto the sand, prompting an immediate law-enforcement response and a fresh warning to beachgoers.
The bundles were found scattered along the shoreline near the 18000 block of FM 3005. Officers collected the packages, sent them for testing, and say the drugs will be destroyed in accordance with department policy once fully confirmed. Residents and visitors are being urged not to touch anything that looks suspicious and to call police instead.
Police: Where and What Was Found
Officers were dispatched at about 9:12 a.m. after callers reported odd-looking packages on the sand. When police arrived, they located 27 individually wrapped bundles and transported them to the Galveston County Justice Center for analysis, according to FOX 26 Houston. Preliminary testing showed the contents were cocaine, and per department policy the narcotics will be submitted for destruction once the process is complete.
Police are asking anyone who spots similar items to leave them alone and immediately call Galveston Police dispatch at 409-765-3702. According to the department, officers will handle collection, testing, and disposal of suspected narcotics.
Not The First Time
For Galveston officials, this is starting to feel like a recurring storyline. The City of Galveston issued a press release after a similar run of suspected narcotics washing up on the island’s west end in April 2025, warning the public not to handle any of the mysterious bundles because they could contain unknown and dangerous substances. In that statement, the city said preliminary tests indicated possible narcotics and that the recovered packages would be held while Galveston police and federal partners continued their investigation, per the City of Galveston.
Local officers say regular patrols combined with quick reporting from beachgoers help keep heavily visited stretches of sand safer as crowds return for the warm-weather season.
How Bundles End Up On Shore
Law-enforcement reports and national coverage have shown that these kinds of tightly wrapped bricks do not exactly wash up by accident. Packages can drift toward shore after they are tossed overboard during boat raids or lost by smugglers trying to avoid arrest. CBS News documented a 2025 case in which officials said crew members dumped narcotics into the water following a raid, and Galveston has dealt with sizable finds before, including a 2015 recovery that police said totaled more than 60 pounds of cocaine, according to Click2Houston.
Episodes like those highlight how quickly currents and storms can move contraband from offshore into public areas and why authorities keep repeating the same message about treating any odd-looking package on the beach as a potential hazard.
What To Do If You Find A Package
Police say that if you stumble across an unknown bundle on Galveston’s beaches, the safest move is to back away, not pick it up, and keep children and pets at a distance. Call Galveston Police dispatch at 409-765-3702 so officers can secure the area and collect the item.
Per FOX 26 Houston, the department then transports suspicious packages for testing and disposes of any confirmed narcotics according to agency policy. If it can be done safely, officials suggest noting nearby landmarks or taking a photo from a distance to help investigators without disturbing potential evidence. They say fast reporting lowers the risk of accidental exposure and helps keep Galveston’s beaches safer for everyone.
