It's a lonely place, 50-to-55 miles off the Southwest Pass of Marsh Island in the Gulf of Mexico… For unaccompanied bundles that may have fallen off a vessel, such items are considered a hazard to navigation if a boat collides with it.
A sharp-eyed captain of a Gulf workboat spotted a suspicious looking bundle floating in the water on Tuesday.
As any responsible mariner would, he recognized the hazard and, looking out for the next guy, acted appropriately. The captain snagged the bundle and pulled it aboard his boat. Upon closer inspection, he made a shocking discovery.
The bundle turned out to be 30-kilograms, roughly 66-75 pounds of pure uncut cocaine. The load was individually wrapped in 30 one-kilogram packages.
The Captain radioed the Department of Homeland Security to report the find. Detectives with the Iberia Parish Sheriff's Office promptly met him when he docked at the Port of Iberia to take possession of the narcotics.
It's estimated the uncut cocaine has a street value of $1-Million dollars. Being wrapped in single bundles, the narcotic was ready for distribution by whomever it was bound for. Detectives are working with the DEA in trying to find out where the cocaine came from.
Co-incidentally, the find happened on the same day as 16-tons, roughly $1-Billion, of cocaine being found in seven containers aboard a ship docked in Philadelphia.