Some fishermen in the Florida Keys are hoping to net more than just their dinner off the coast.
asserted
fishermen → hop → coast
When they anchor their boats, most are hoping to catch a red or black grouper fish, but some are finding a completely different kind of prize: a plastic-wrapped block of marijuana or cocaine.
asserted
some → anchor → marijuana
The bounty is often jokingly referred to as a 'square grouper.'
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bounty → refer → grouper
Although the tightly wrapped bricks are wholly illegal, some residents are risking prison time to profit.
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residents → wrap → time
In August, three men were sentenced up to 10 years in prison for operating a large-scale cocaine trafficking operation in the Keys.
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men → sentence → Keys
John Robert Strama Jr, 44; Pedro Luis Lugo Jr, 38; and Elvis Lazaro Ruiz, 34, all of Marathon, were among the 27 people who were federally charged with distributing cocaine from 2020 to 2023.
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who → charge → 2023
Strama, the leader of the group, largely got the drug through square groupers he found at sea, the Justice Department said in a statement.
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Department → get → statement
He used his knowledge of the waterways to recover dozens of bricks.
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He → use → bricks
He then distributed the drug to his co-conspirators, prosecutors said.
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prosecutors → distribute → conspirators
Charter boat captain, Bradford Picariello, 65, was arrested in January for trafficking cocaine.
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captain → arrest → cocaine
He pleaded not guilty in September and faces 10 years to life in prison if convicted.
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He → plead → prison
Dozens of square groupers, bricks of cocaine or marijuana, have been found in the water
Although the tightly wrapped brick is wholly illegal, some residents are risking prison time to profit
Picariello has been accused of selling a kilo to an undercover detective for $10,000.
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Picariello → find → 10,000
He allegedly told the agent to bring a cooler to make it look as if he was getting fish, the police report said.
uncertain
report → tell → fish
He is also accused of telling the officer he was selling 100 pounds of cocaine.
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he → accuse → cocaine
His arrest led to the discovery of 23 kilos, NBC 6 reported.
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NBC → lead → kilos
Picariello's attorney, Joseph Rosenbaum, said they will fight his charges.
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they → say → charges
'Every old fisherman that I talk to tells me he’s got a sterling reputation,' Rosenbaum told The New York Times.
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Rosenbaum → talk → Times
For Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay, someone turning up to his office with another brick is a weekly occurrence, he told the Daily Mail.
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he → turn → Mail
Many people find it while offshore fishing, he said.
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he → find → it
Ramsay estimates only half ever make it back to the sheriff's office.
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half → estimate → office
He suspects the majority makes its way to Miami.
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majority → suspect → Miami
So people want to get rich quick,' he said.
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he → want → ?
'At some point in time, greed gets in place.'
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greed → get → place
Sheriff Rick Ramsay said it is a weekly occurrence for someone to find a square grouper in the county
Authorities believe it is coming from the Caribbean, Colombia and Southern parts of the Bahamas.
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it → say → Bahamas
The symbols they are adorned with are understood to identify the intended recipient
In the past year he estimates that 40 to 50 kilos of uncut cocaine have made it to his office, where it will eventually be passed off to federal authorities.
Authorities believe it is coming from the Caribbean, Colombia and the Bahamas.
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it → adorn → Bahamas
And the symbols they are marked with, such as numbers or photos, indicate the recipient, not the owner.
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they → mark → recipient
The county, which encompasses the Keys and the southwest tip of the mainland, has also seen a 'significant' increase in recent years as US-Mexico border security ramped up.
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security → encompass → years
'Now that that southwest border is shut down, we've seen more dope floating up the last couple years, which would give us an indication that more dope is starting to come back in through the water,' Ramsay said.
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dope → shut → water
Unlike in the 1970s through 1990s, where hundreds of kilos washed up, today it is usually 50 to 100 kilos, Ramsay said.
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Ramsay → wash → kilos
This is partly due to the vessels changing.
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vessels → change → ?
Decades ago, smugglers had high-speed boats that could out-race police.
uncertain
that → have → police
Now, smugglers have changed tactics, including using hidden compartments in sailboats, Ramsay said.
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Ramsay → change → sailboats
In the 1970s, the bricks largely contained marijuana.
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bricks → contain → marijuana
This changed in the 1980s, when cocaine became the dominant drug, Local Historian Brad Bertelli told the Daily Mail.
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Bertelli → change → Mail
'For a lot of local fishermen, that used to be their side gig,' he said.
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he → use → fishermen
'[Fishermen] came back to shore with more than the catch of the day.
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Fishermen → come → day
The area has gained a reputation and a popular restaurant is named after the phenomenon
'
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restaurant → gain → phenomenon
A lot of people knew what was going on.'
Places like the Everglades and the Keys were notorious for it, Bertelli said.
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Bertelli → know → it
'It became a way to make a living.
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It → become → living
Sometimes square groupers are exchanged boat-to-boat, while others are offloaded by smugglers if they feared federal authorities were nearby, the historian said.
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historian → exchange → smugglers
…and 8 more, not listed.
The Aporia
