’Ghost boat’ carrying nearly a ton of cocaine washes ashore on Pacific island David Matthews
A small boat washed ashore on the Marshall Islands last week carrying 1,400 pounds of cocaine, leaving investigators stumped.
Police on the remote Pacific island nation between the Philippines and Hawaii took possession of the cocaine, which was divided up into 649 1-kilogram bricks and worth about $80 million, after it showed up on a beach at Ailuk Atoll and destroyed it. Police called it the largest drug seizure in the history of the Marshall Islands.
“649 blocks of wrapped cocaine, discovered inside an unmanned boat washed up on our beaches at Ailuk. Police took action in collecting and destroying all packages,” the Marshall Islands Police Department wrote on Facebook, including a photo of officers next to the stacked up drugs and a laughing-crying emoji.
Image: The cocaine was taken to the capital, Majuro
They are numerous theories about the drugs washing up; a shipment going wrong due to the loss of a radio beacon, a bad storm, or problems with the boat s engine.
Residents were praised for notifying authorities.
Sometimes wash-ups on remote islands go unreported and find their way onto the illegal market.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player November: Smugglers dump drugs in sea in dramatic chase
Islands in the Pacific are on a major international drug trafficking route, so it is not the first time large drug packages have been found.
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