Galveston Man Finds Cocaine On Beach

[sjmar86]

GALVESTON — Few answers were available Friday in the case of a brick of cocaine found on Pirates' Beach that morning.

An off-duty police officer from an undisclosed, out-of-town agency was visiting family members when he spotted a package that had washed onto the shore.

The officer called police, and narcotics officers took the package into custody.

Police said the white, powdery substance appeared to be about a kilogram of cocaine. Determining who might have lost it would not be as easy, police said.

Patrol commander Capt. Michael Putnal said there was “absolutely no way of knowing” whether the package was related to a package containing an undisclosed amount of marijuana found washed ashore on the Bolivar Peninsula.

Sheriff’s office representatives said they had recovered the substance Friday morning.

Putnal asked that anyone who saw a “suspicious package” in the surf call police and not touch the item.

“If something does float up and it is narcotics, you are technically committing a crime the moment you pick it up, even if you have the purest of intentions,” he said. “Don’t pick it up and bring it to us. Leave it there and call us.”