Block of cocaine, possibly 50 pounds, washes ashore in Melbourne Beach

Somewhere, someone is missing a very large block of cocaine.

Brevard County sheriff’s deputies retrieved the large block of powdered narcotic about 11 a.m. Friday after it washed ashore just south of Melbourne Beach. Some media reports estimated it to be about 50 pounds.

So far, no word on where the sea-faring package, which apparently washed up along the shoreline, might have come from. It was not immediately known what street value the cocaine might have had or if it was rendered worthless and waterlogged by its journey over the sea.

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The cocaine — or coke as it's commonly known — was found on the beach in the 3000 block of State Road A1A by an unidentified beach comber, not far from where a 45-foot sailboat from the Keys — the Cuki — ran aground following Hurricane Irma's passage.

Typically, authorities say such drugs either fall off a boat or are tossed overboard. The block may have also traveled a long distance, possibly battered by the rough waves that have pounded Brevard’s shoreline in recent weeks.

It is not the first time such a package has washed ashore in Brevard. Bales of marijuana — known as square groupers — have also made landfall along the county's 72-mile-shoreline from time to time. In recent years, a sprinkling of other unintended spills from cargo ships and other vessels have brought coffee cans and other items. 

On Friday, the Sheriff's Office immediately removed the package. The Sheriff’s Office has not yet responded to inquiries about the cocaine or what might happen to it.

Contact Gallop at 321-242-3642

or jdgallop@floridatoday.com.

Twitter: @jdgallop