Two Florida Keys boating trips turned into unexpected drug recoveries Tuesday, after recreational mariners spotted separate packages floating offshore and brought them to authorities. One package was believed to contain cocaine, while the other held suspected marijuana.
According to Tampa Free Press, boaters found the first package around 1 p.m. offshore of the Lower Keys. The wrapped bundle contained roughly one kilogram of suspected cocaine and was brought ashore near Mile Marker 34.
Two Floating Packages Were Found Hours Apart
About two hours later, mariners spotted another package roughly 14 miles off Ramrod Key. That parcel contained suspected marijuana of an unspecified weight and was also taken back to land before both packages were turned over to U.S. Border Patrol.
Authorities have not released information about where the drugs came from or whether the two discoveries are connected. The incidents remain under investigation, and the available reports do not identify any arrests or charges.
Floating Drug Bundles Have Become A Familiar Keys Mystery
The latest recovery comes less than a month after a kilogram of suspected cocaine marked with a lion image washed up at Robbie’s Marina in Islamorada. Hoodline reported that a nearly identical package had been found at Long Key State Park just days earlier, with both bundles handed to federal agents.
Similar discoveries have been reported elsewhere along Florida’s coast. In 2024, the Miami Herald reported that boaters found 56 pounds of cocaine packed into 25 individually wrapped kilograms near Panther Key, while investigators said floating drug loads can be moved by tides and storms.
For now, the Lower Keys packages are evidence rather than treasure, with federal authorities expected to test and document the suspected narcotics as investigators work to determine whether they were lost, dumped or deliberately abandoned at sea.
