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It’s not rare for large quantities of drugs to end up floating in the ocean or washing up on the beach after a smuggling operation went awry. Most people who come across those packages report them to the authorities, but the captain of a charter fishing boat in Florida has landed in jail after trying to unload a sizeable amount of cocaine he came across.
There’s no way to know exactly how much cocaine is exported to the United States on an annual basis given the illegal nature of that particular industry, but the fact that authorities seize hundreds of tons each year suggests a significantly higher amount is making its way into the country undetected.
The people responsible for smuggling the drug into America employ a wide variety of strategies when it comes to transporting the goods. Some operations fly or drive kilos across the water, and many others rely on boats (and even submarines) to ferry them across the ocean and onto dry land.
The ones who go that route have to keep an eye out for the Coast Guard and other agencies that are tasked with thwarting them, and there have been plenty of stories about people who encountered a package of bricks on the shore or in the sea after they were prematurely offloaded for one reason or another.
Those stories tend to come to light because the drugs were brought to the attention of law enforcement by people who reported them, but we have a new one courtesy of the captain of a charter boat in the Florida Keys who allegedly couldn’t resist the urge to try to make some money.
A Florida charter boat captain was arrested for trying to sell cocaine he recovered at sea to an undercover police officer
I can’t say I’m personally familiar with what a kilo of cocaine will currently fetch on the black market, but according to the Miami Herald, an undercover federal agent in the Florida Keys recently got the opportunity to purchase one for $10,000 from a fishing boat captain who landed in jail as a result.
The outlet says the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department worked in conjunction with U.S. Customs and Border Protection in a sting targeting 65-year-old Bradford Todd Picariello, who operates Outlaw Fishing Charters in the town of Marathon on the Middle Keys.
Picariello allegedly came across a sizeable quantity of cocaine during a trip. He apparently decided to hang onto the stash he subsequently attempted to offload, and he was arrested after he directed the aforementioned agent to head to his marina with the cooler he placed the kilo in before he was taken into custody.
He reportedly told the agent he had another 100 pounds in his possession, but a search that was executed in the wake of his arrest “only” led to the seizure of 23 kilos (half that amount) along with $8,000 in cash.
Monroe County Sheriff's Office
The 38-foot boat Picariello used for his charter operation was also seized, and he remains in custody after being charged with the selling, trafficking, and possession of cocaine.