Drug smuggling

Cocaine deaths surge with rise of drug smuggling into South Florida

Cocaine killed more people in Florida last year than any other drug, and authorities expect it will only get worse as traffickers push more of the narcotic through the Sunshine State.

Cocaine-related fatalities rose for the fourth year in a row in 2016, contributing to the deaths of 2,882 people, according to the latest data from the Florida Medical Examiner’s Commission.

The Drug Enforcement Administration says the deaths statewide coincide in part with an increase in Colombian cocaine moving through the Caribbean and entering South Florida. Much of the cocaine is being smuggled on planes and boats.

“What you’re seeing in the medical examiner data is a direct result of the increasing supply of cocaine,” said Justin Miller, intelligence chief for the DEA’s Miami field division. “Unfortunately, we are seeing the consequences of having that much cocaine coming into our region.”

Cocaine production in Colombia has hit a record high. That’s partly because the government ended the practice of aerial spraying of herbicides over coca fields, which curbed cultivation of the crop. The Colombian government ended the decadeslong program over health concerns.