Hurricane Dorian Brings Storm Surge and Cocaine to Florida Coast

Dozens of kilos of cocaine are washing ashore on Florida's beaches as Hurricane Dorian moves toward the coast of Georgia and the Carolinas.

By Jess Nelson

September 4, 2019

After Hurricane Dorian, dozens of kilos of cocaine are washing ashore in Florida. Photo by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol

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As a downgraded Category 2 Hurricane Dorian continues to churn north, coastal Floridians might experience two to five feet of storm surge, three to six inches of rainfall, and hundreds of thousands of dollars of drugs washing ashore.

Dozens of kilos of cocaine are washing onto Florida's beaches as Dorian heads toward Georgia and the Carolinas. As first reported by NBC News, one kilo — worth an estimated $20,000 to $30,000 — was found Tuesday at Paradise Beach Park in Melbourne. Police tested the package, which was labeled with the Spanish word for “diamond,” and confirmed it was a brick of cocaine.

More than two dozen bricks of cocaine were reported to have washed ashore on Cocoa Beach, on Florida's Space Coast. A duffel bag containing 15 kilos — worth $300,000 to $450,000 — was also found on the beach and handed over to police in Brevard County.

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Jess Nelson is the 2019 writing fellow for Miami New Times. She was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and is excited to be living close to the water again after moving to Miami from New York. She studied history at UC Berkeley and investigative journalism at Columbia University.

Contact: Jess Nelson

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Twitter: @_jessnelson_