Florida Keys boat captain tried to sell cocaine found at sea to undercover detectives, sheriff’s office says
CBS
A charter boat captain in the Florida Keys was arrested this week for allegedly selling cocaine that was reportedly found at sea, authorities said.
Bradford Todd Picariello, 65, of Marathon, Florida, was arrested after allegedly selling a kilogram of the drugs to undercover detectives for $10,000 in cash on Monday, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release on Tuesday.
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 on social media, showing about 20 packages of the alleged drugs, including some labeled “332.”
“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.
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.
Picariello was taken to jail and his case is expected to be prosecuted federally, the sheriff’s office said.
Drug traffickers often try to smuggle cocaine over the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean with speed boats and “narco subs.” Cocaine 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.
Last July, a beachgoer found nearly half a million dollars worth of cocaine wrapped in “Yosemite Sam” packaging washed up on shore in Walton County, Florida.
In December 2024, a fisherman in Florida found 25 kilos of cocaine along the coast, CBS News Miami reported.
In August 2024, Hurricane Debby blew packages of cocaine worth over $1 million onto a Florida Keys beach. That same month, tourists on a Florida beach found a package with 16 bricks of suspected cocaine.
In June 2024, boaters off the coast of the Florida Keys found 65 pounds of cocaine floating in the ocean. Just weeks earlier, divers found about 55 pounds of cocaine about 100 feet underwater off Key West.
In 2023, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, while on a fishing trip with her family, reeled in 70 pounds of cocaine.
