Border agents made a disturbing discovery on Boca Chica Beach in Brownsville, Texas.
Twenty-five bricks of cocaine recently washed ashore, according to Gloria Chavez, chief patrol agent for the Border Patrol's Rio Grande Valley Sector.
Chavez said an additional brick was found on the nearby Padre Island National Seashore.
The bricks reportedly weighed a total of 75 pounds. The estimated street value is $2.3 million, Chavez said.
It's unclear where the cocaine came from, but the region is continually combating the flow of drugs entering the country.
According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, Colombia produces about 90% of the cocaine powder that enters the U.S. Most of it enters through Mexico, the DEA says.
This is not the first time cocaine bricks have washed ashore in Texas.
KTRK-TV in Houston reported in April 2022 that three bricks of what appeared to be cocaine washed up on Galveston beaches. In San Antonio, KABB reported in 2021 that two women found a brick of cocaine washed up on a beach near Beaumont.
A DEA agent said at the time that the bricks could be coming from cartels who get spooked when the U.S. Coast Guard interrupts their drug runs.
The Centers for Disease Control continually reports on the dangers of cocaine. In 2021, nearly 25,000 people died from an overdose involving cocaine, CDC said.
