did this drug find make the local news in playa

[steve balt]

we were there at the time, never heard about it till now ?

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Drugs float ashore on Playa del Carmen


Sixty keys overboard? Forget about it

*See update below*
You never know what you'll encounter when you go beachcombing. In the tourist mecca of Playa del Carmen (Quintana Roo state), yesterday afternoon it turned out to be 60 kilos (132 pounds) of pure Colombia cocaine.

The discovery was made about 4:00 p.m. by a beach runner who notified nearby hotel security guards and police. The cocaine was tightly sealed in 35 heavy plastic bags, which in turn were well secured in a larger plastic container. The drugs were in perfect condition, resting on the beach a few meters from the ocean, obviously packaged by professionals.

Authorities in Playa say that discovery of drugs on beaches is not unusual. In this case, drug traffickers hauling cocaine from Colombia by boat came ashore (almost, anyway) on a remote stretch of beach, probably not far from the hotel zone and undoubtedly under cover of darkness. A vehicle (or more than one) was waiting. In the rush to offload many kilos, this particular container fell into the sea. Maybe the traffickers didn't notice it, but more likely they just didn't care. Every businessman understands that spoilage or loss of part of a product in route to market is inevitable, and that's exactly what happened in this case. The accountants in Medellín will update their books accordingly.

Last week authorities found a kilo and a half of marijuana on a beach in the same area. They say all the drugs coming ashore in this region are ultimately U.S.-bound (overland). Unless my geography is off, I'd say there's an excellent chance some or all of them are moving through Yucatán. But the state government says there's no trafficking here . . .

Update Feb. 26: Q.R. authorities now say that the cocaine actually weighed in at slightly under 26 kilos, or about 57 pounds. The street price of cocaine varies dramatically based upon purity, where it's being sold and myriad other factors. But the 26,000 grams in this case were easily worth several million dollars. And how much more is sitting on the sea floor just a few meters off the beach?

[ryberg]

I couldn't answer your initial question. However I note with interest that in the author's posted commented on that piece (here), he suggests he doesn't know much about the area, even though he's reporting on it.

[Babaloo]

I heard about it.
It made the papers.
It happens.

[Bluespicker]

Square Groupers.

[Rissask]

Originally Posted by Bluespicker

Square Groupers.

yup, I read that is what locals all them, obviously a fairly common experience, finding them on the beach, if they have a slang term for the packages.

There was a photo/link posted on the Coz forum on TA recently from Por Esto of the horribly trash-filled beach on the east coast of Cozumel where they had found a package or two, too.

[liloleme]

Well I wonder whatever could have happened to those missing kilos...

[juanrojo]

Strictly personal use kilos ! Another local slang term , " SEAWEED "