CBS News
Boaters find over $1 million of cocaine — packaged with bald eagle designs — floating at sea off Florida Keys
Recreational boaters off the coast of the Florida Keys found 65 pounds of cocaine floating in the ocean, authorities said this week, marking yet another recent discovery of drugs in U.S. waters and shores.
Samuel Briggs II, the acting chief patrol agent of the U.S. Border Patrol, said the cocaine has an estimated street value of over $1 million. Briggs posted video on social media Monday night showing the wrapped packages of cocaine being wheeled away on a dolly.
In a separate social media post, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said that “mariners in a private vessel found a package containing approximately 21 individually wrapped kilograms of suspected cocaine.” Officials said the drugs, which were found in the water about 7 miles off Islamorada, Florida, on Saturday, were handed over to U.S. Border Patrol agents.
A photo released by the sheriff’s office showed a package of the suspected cocaine emblazoned with an image of a bald eagle.
Earlier this month, divers found 25 kilograms of cocaine about 100 feet underwater off Key West. Images released by the sheriff’s office showed packages marked “Nike SB,” with imitations of the footwear brand’s iconic swoosh logo on the front. The very next day, the same amount of suspected cocaine was found washed up on Dauphin Island, Alabama.
Last month, a beachgoer found about $1 million worth of cocaine washed up along the Florida Keys, CBS News Miami reported. U.S. Border Patrol agents said that package contained 65 pounds of cocaine.
Drug traffickers routinely transport cocaine through the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico using a variety of vessels — and sometimes the packages are marked with distinctive designs.
In January, the Colombian navy seized a so-called narco sub loaded with more than 1,000 pounds of cocaine in the Pacific Ocean, and many of the parcels featured an insignia of a scorpion.
In 2023, packages of cocaine worth more than $100,000 washed up on several Florida beaches. Each package was marked with a different design, including one that appeared to mimic the Chanel logo.
Also last year, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, while on a fishing trip with her family, reeled in 70 pounds of cocaine. Those bricks of narcotics were emblazoned with butterfly designs.
Colombia produces about 60% of the cocaine found in the world.
CBS News
Former New York Gov. David Paterson, stepson attacked while walking in New York City
NEW YORK — Former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson were attacked in New York City on Friday night, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before 9 p.m. on Second Avenue near East 96th Street on the Upper East Side, according to the New York City Police Department.
Police said officers were sent to the scene after an assault was reported. When officers arrived, police say they found a 20-year-old man suffering from facial injuries and a 70-year-old man who had head pain. Both victims were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the former governor said the two were attacked while “taking a walk around the block near their home by some individuals that had a previous interaction with his stepson.”
The spokesperson said that they were injured “but were able to fight off their attackers.”
Both were taken to Cornell Hospital “as a precaution,” he added.
Police said no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
The 70-year-old Paterson, a Democrat, served as governor from 2008 to 2010, stepping into the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer following his prostitution scandal. He made history at the time as the state’s first-ever Black and legally blind governor.
CBS News
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Teen critically wounded in shooting on Philadelphia bus; one person in custody
A 17-year-old boy was critically injured and a person is in custody after a gunman opened fire on a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia Friday evening, police said.
At around 6:15 p.m., Philadelphia police were notified about a shooting on a SEPTA bus traveling on Allegheny Avenue near 3rd and 4th streets in North Philadelphia, Inspector D F Pace told CBS News Philadelphia.
There were an estimated 30 people on the bus at the time of the shooting, Pace said, but only the 17-year-old boy was believed to have been shot. Investigators said they believe it was a targeted attack on the teenager and that he was shot in the back of the bus at close range.
According to Pace, the SEPTA bus driver alerted a control center about the shooting, which then relayed the message to Philadelphia police, who responded to the scene shortly.
Officers arrived at the scene and found at least one spent shell casing and blood on the bus, but no shooting victim, Pace said. Investigators later discovered the 17-year-old had been taken to Temple University Hospital where he is said to be in critical condition, according to police.
Through their preliminary investigation, police learned those involved in the SEPTA shooting may have fled in a silver-colored Kia.
Authorities then found a car matching the description of the Kia speeding in the area and a pursuit began, Pace said. Police got help from a PPD helicopter as they followed the Kia, which ended up crashing at 5th and Greenwood streets in East Mount Airy. Pace said the Kia crashed into a parked car.
The driver of the crashed car ran away but police were still able to take them into custody, Pace said.
Investigators believe there was a second person involved in the shooting who ran from the car before it crashed. Police said they believe this person escaped near Allegheny Avenue and 4th Street, leaving a coat behind.
According to Pace, police also found a gun and a group of spent shell casings believed to be involved in the shooting in the same area.
“It’s very possible that there may have been a shooting inside the bus and also shots fired from outside of the bus toward the bus,” Pace said, “We’re still trying to piece all that together at this time.”
This is an active investigation and police are reviewing surveillance footage from the SEPTA bus.