ST. LUCIE COUNTY ― What happens when a man walks into a police station with 2 pounds of cocaine and fentanyl?
In Fort Pierce, a field test and evidence collection is what followed after a man turned over a brick of an unknown substance he said he found on the beach Tuesday.
Police in Fort Pierce said a man walked into their station with the brick around 2 p.m. Tuesday, records show.
The man told officers he found the brick while cleaning the beach at FrederickDouglass Memorial Park on south Hutchinson island around 11:30 a.m., police said.
He said he believed the brick contained narcotics.
Investigators field-tested the substance, which came back positive for fentanyl and cocaine, according to the records.
Police placed the brick in thick plastic bags, sealed them and marked them as evidence.
The “wash ups” happen frequently and usually contain narcotics, law enforcement officers have said.
In April, police found 20 bricks of cocaine weighing 57 pounds, and having an estimated value of $700,000, washed up on a beach in Vero Beach.
Law enforcement officers in the past have described the general procedure for handling packages that wash on shore, or what the Drug Enforcement Administration calls “wash ups.”:
Take pictures of the drugs and field test the contents to determine the substance
Examine the contents and packaging at the agency’s forensics unit
Inspect the packaging for markings, signs and symbols
Search beaches for other narcotics
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Mauricio La Plante is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow him on Twitter @mslaplantenews or email him at Mauricio.LaPlante@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: man finds fentanyl and cocaine on St. Lucie beach and takes to police
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