Bales Of Pot Worth $100K Wash Ashore In Abandoned Boat
FT. LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – An open fisherman boat with drugs on board washed ashore on Ft. Lauderdale's beach early Monday morning.
The 20-foot boat, which was unoccupied, washed up in the surf just south of Oakland Park Boulevard just before dawn.
Ft. Lauderdale police spokeswoman Detective DeAnna Greenlaw said officers found bales of marijuana on the vessel.
"A recreational vehicle arrived on the beach and on that vessel were some small bales of marijuana," said Det. Greenlaw.
Police, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Coast Guard launched an all-out search after a passerby reported the abandoned fishing boat on the shore.
"We saw the federal agents and the police officers and when I looked out on the street, we saw police officers and K9 dogs going up and down. I guess they were looking to see if anybody was hiding," said resident Billie Theo Haris.
Residents who woke up to the commotion walked outside to see what was going on.
"I came out to check it out, I can't believe it's drugs," said resident Kim Notte-Mavrookas.
"I think it's very serious because people get murdered over that stuff," said resident Gregory Lewis.
Police say they recovered at least 11 bales of narcotics. A U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent on the scene estimated each bale was worth about 10-thousand dollars which makes the total discovery worth an estimated 100-thousand dollars.
At first police believed a barrel on the beach may have had drugs in it but stated later it may have just been fuel.
Officers scoured the sand for evidence but no arrests have been made.
"It is a large area for them to search, unfortunately, they were not able to find anybody," said Greenlaw.
Anyone with information on the boat or its owner can contact the police at (954) 828-6691.
