Isla Cozumel: Huge Ball / Haul of Cocaine Found Underwater

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                                       A new way to stash cocaine discovered: Underwater
A large network of cocaine was discovered by elements of the Mexican Navy while walking along the eastern coast of the island of Cozumel.

During a routine tour, navy personnel noticed a buoy with a beacon tied to it a few meters from shore in the beach area of Punta Chiqueros. Noting how unusual a beacon was for that area, the navy called in divers who were sent out to investigate. It was an active buoy with geolocation; which the authorities noticed on the eastern part of the island.

When divers reached the underwater site, they found a large submerged net with numerous packages wrapped inside. The entire network was weighed down by a wood structure. Once brought to land, the inspected packages turned out to be cocaine. Several other loose packages were said discovered a few meters from the main site.

Navy personnel have not released an official figure of weight or the number of packages found. The buoy and beacon set-up were allegedly being used as a marked pickup location.

Such confiscation would be the largest at least within the last 10 years on the island; its transportation was carried out in a Navy van, which was filled with the contraband.  According to unofficial sources can be up to 100 kilograms of pure cocaine with an estimated value of 200 thousand pesos a kilo in the black market.

During a tour of Marine Corps elements in the eastern area of ​​Cozumel in the land area, being in the area of ​​Punta Chiqueros they noticed a package between the brick-shaped sand packed with tape and bags, then five more bricks spaced  several meters away continuing a trail of these packages.

Therefore, they continued with the review of the area, it was approximately 250 meters from the first finding, being the area of ​​rocks of Punta Chiqueros where they observed a buoy emitting a signal with a red lighthouse, so they performed the review detecting that it It was attached to a metal structure holding a net and plastic packaging under the sea.

Members of the navy, along with elements from the National Guard and four Public Security units, were on site for the recovery and transport of the finding.

With this, it is more than clear, one of the many ways in which the drug reaches the island of Cozumel, which is through packages that are left “anchored” on the coast and marked with buoys with light to detect them with greater ease at night and during the day to observe the buoy floating near the beach, and then be collected by its recipients. 

It is noteworthy that the darkness of the night is used to recover the package, since access to the east coast should be closed due to the season of arrival of sea turtles and police checkpoints are installed at Mezcalitos beach and on the side south past the entrance of the town El Cedral.