This is surprisingly common. I read an article not so long ago (would add link if I could remember where I read it) about a couple that found a package on a beach in south Wales so thoroughly wrapped in cellophane that the contents were obscured. Knowing it wasn’t simply a large bundle of litter they informed the local coast guard to come check it out. The coast guard also had no idea what it was but didn’t want to be held responsible for any possible disturbance of evidence so got the local bobbies on the scene, after all for all they knew it could have been a severed head or something.
The police arrived and after much deliberation sliced it open to discover the content was pure unadulterated Columbian marching powder, oddly there was label stating where it had come from so they knew it was Columbian but no address for intended destination. The contents of this particular package equated over £750,000 of cocaine, even more at street level once dealers start cutting it to get more sales out of it.
Anyway some research was done and it turned out that 13 of these packages had been discovered over the course of 6 months; a few in north wales, some south Wales and the rest along the south-west coast of England. All the packages were identical apart from the varying amounts of cocaine within, so it was logical to surmise they’d all come from the same source. Can’t remember exactly how much all these packages were valued at in total but it was approaching £10,000,000. That’s a lot of lost Cocaine! And that is only the packages that people were reporting; some will have been kept of course, if not most lol.
Police concluded that whoever had been responsible for transferring the coke had had it in tow bundled together behind whatever boat/ship they were travelling in. Apparently this is a trick used often to avoid capture if you’re unfortunate enough to be stopped and searched whilst on the waters, people using this method supposedly successfully deceive the popo when searched but obviously increase the risk of losing your valuable cargo in choppy waters. It is believed the coke was intended for Europe but I doubt it was meant to have landed mostly in Wales and Cornwall lol.
