Mysterious cocaine packages washing up on Texas beach, cops say. Don’t pick them up

Packages of cocaine keep washing up on a beach in Texas, and officials are warning visitors against picking them up.

Over the past week, 50 kilograms of cocaine have washed up on Matagorda County beaches, the county’s sheriff’s office said Tuesday. The county is located about 90 miles southwest of Houston.

The packages vary in weight, with about 110 pounds of the white powdery substance mysteriously appearing in total.

The sheriff’s office said you should not touch or pick up suspicious packages on the beach. Packages could contain cocaine, marijuana or fentanyl, and could be harmful if touched, according to the sheriff’s office.

“Once the package becomes wet, the substance in the package could become liquid form and leak from the package,” Lt. Phillip Hester said in a statement. “Once the substance becomes liquid form it is easier to absorb into the skin and could cause a person to become ill or it could possibly be fatal.”

There could also be legal issues with picking up a package of this type. The sheriff’s office said a person in possession of a package containing drugs could be criminally charged.

It’s unclear where the packages of cocaine came from.

The wholesale price for a kilogram of cocaine is between $29,000 and $34,000, Special Agent Anne-Judith Lambert of the Drug Enforcement Agency told the Miami Herald this week.

This story was originally published May 27, 2021 at 5:38 AM with the headline "Mysterious cocaine packages washing up on Texas beach, cops say. Don’t pick them up."