Florida divers find trove of suspected cocaine packages in Atlantic Ocean

Divers in Key West, Florida, have discovered more than a dozen packages of suspected cocaine in the Atlantic Ocean.

On Wednesday, the sheriff’s office in Monroe county announced the discovery, saying that divers found 25kg of individually wrapped packages of suspected cocaine that were located approximately 100ft underwater.

“The sheriffs responded to the Rainbow Reef Dive Center in Key Largo at approximately 12.25pm where divers stated they were removing what they thought was trash when the discovery was made,” the sheriff’s office said.

A photo posted on Facebook showed a ripped black garbage bag next to the gray packages of suspected cocaine. Each of the packages was wrapped in clear plastic and marked with a blue “Nike SB” sign and the Nike swoosh logo.

“The sheriff’s office turned over the suspected narcotics to the US border patrol,” the statement said.

Wednesday’s discovery follows an earlier discovery this month in which a beachgoer in the Florida Keys found approximately 30kg of cocaine worth around $1m.

Meanwhile in January, the US Coast Guard seized over a ton of cocaine worth $32m near Florida. The seizure occurred in international waters of the Caribbean Sea during two separate cases, according to the coast guard. Six smugglers were subsequently arrested.

Due to Florida’s proximity to South America and its status as a high-intensity drug trafficking area, so much cocaine has been found in waters near the state that experts say that “cocaine sharks” may be consuming the 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.

“It’s the next best thing [and] set their brains aflame,” experts said.