Authorities seized a total of 23 kilograms of cocaine, a 38-foot boat and $8,000 in cash, the sheriff’s office said. A .40-caliber handgun was also confiscated. Authorities released an image<\/a> on social media, showing about 20 packages of the alleged drugs, including some labeled “332.”<\/p>\n “I want to thank all the Sheriff’s Office members and our law enforcement partners who investigated this case and continue to work to keep dangerous drugs out of our community,” Sheriff Rick Ramsay said in a statement.<\/p>\n A charter boat captain in the Florida Keys has arrested this week for allegedly selling cocaine that was reportedly found at sea, authorities said Tuesday.<\/p>\n Monroe County Sheriff’s Office<\/p>\n Picariello was charged with trafficking, selling and possessing cocaine. The investigation was assisted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Drug and Enforcement Administration, and CBP Air and Marine Operations.<\/p>\n Picariello was taken to jail and his case is expected to be prosecuted federally, the sheriff’s office said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Drug traffickers often try to smuggle cocaine over the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean with speed boats and\u00a0“narco subs.”<\/a>\u00a0Cocaine can be dumped into the water to evade detection from law enforcement or to be picked up by other smugglers, but the drug sometimes end up on beaches and in the waters off Florida.<\/p>\n Last July, a beachgoer found nearly half a million dollars worth of cocaine<\/a> wrapped in “Yosemite Sam” packaging washed up on shore in Walton County, Florida. <\/p>\n In December 2024, a fisherman in Florida found 25 kilos of cocaine along the coast, CBS News Miami reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n In August 2024, Hurricane Debby\u00a0blew packages of cocaine<\/a>\u00a0worth over $1 million onto a Florida Keys beach. That same month, tourists on a Florida beach\u00a0found a package<\/a>\u00a0with 16 bricks of suspected cocaine.<\/p>\n In June 2024, boaters off the coast of the Florida Keys\u00a0found 65 pounds of cocaine<\/a>\u00a0floating in the ocean. Just weeks earlier,\u00a0divers found<\/a>\u00a0about 55 pounds of cocaine about 100 feet underwater off Key West. <\/p>\n In 2023, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, while on a fishing trip with her family,\u00a0reeled in 70 pounds of cocaine<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n More from CBS News\n <\/p>\n \n Go deeper with The Free Press\n <\/p>\n![\"cocaine-g-hkbosw8aartf4.jpg](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/cocaine-g-hkbosw8aartf4.jpg#.jpeg\")
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