Cocaine Continues To Wash Ashore in Florida As Passerby Finds Two Bricks During Beach Walk

People keep finding cocaine washing ashore in Florida, with a new such episode taking place this week in the state's Keys.

According to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, two bricks of the drug were found on Monday morning by a passerby. The bricks weighed about a kilogram, Adam Linhardt, the sheriff's office spokesman told the Miami Herald.

The cocaine was given to U.S. Border Patrol in accordance with protocol for when illegal substances are found on shore.

This is far from being the first case of the kind, as the Florida Keys are a key route used by traffickers to smuggle drugs into the U.S. Authorities reported in August that 25 packages containing about 70 pounds of cocaine were found in the area. Overall, the packages were worth over $1 million.

In late July, a Florida diver partaking in the annual two-day lobster mini-season found a similar package. According to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, the diver was in the ocean about a mile off shore near the Upper Keys, when he found the cocaine.

Moreover, in June, the U.S. Coast Guard announced that it had seized more than 14,153 pounds of cocaine—worth more than $186 million—from waters spanning between southern Florida and the Caribbean.

And in May, a Florida Keys beachgoer discovered a suspicious package along the beach and notified the authorities. U.S. Border Patrol agents recovered the package which was believed to contain 65 pounds of cocaine valued at approximately $1 million.

Due to the amount of lost cocaine found in waters near Florida, experts say that "cocaine sharks" may be consuming drugs underwater.

"If these cocaine bales are a point source of pollution, it's very plausible [sharks] can be affected by this chemical. Cocaine is so soluble that any of those packages open just a little, the structural integrity is destroyed and the drug is in the water," Tracy Fanara, a Florida-based environmental engineer told The Guardian last year.