PICTURED: Coast Guard seizes 27,300 pounds of cocaine worth $367M (£285M) and 11,000 pounds of marijuana worth $10M (£8M) in international waters off Florida coast
- Coast Guard Cutter James crew is scheduled to offload approximately 28,000 pounds of seized cocaine worth an estimated $367million
- Approximately 11,000 pounds of seized marijuana worth an estimated $10.1million is scheduled to be offloaded at Port Everglades
- Drugs were interdicted in international waters of the Caribbean Basin and the Eastern Pacific Ocean off the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America
- It includes contraband seized and recovered in 18 separate interdictions of suspected drug smuggling vessels by U.S. Coast Guard
- Crew conducted counter-drug operations with the cooperative efforts with regional partner nations like Columbia and Costa Rica
The United States Coast Guard has shown what 28,000 pounds of seized cocaine looks like, after they teamed up with the likes of Columbia and Costa Rica to keep $367million worth of the stuff off the streets.
The Seventh District in Florida was also preparing to offload 11,000 pounds of marijuana worth $10.1million at Port Everglades on Monday, as part of the massive amount of contraband captured in 18 separate interdictions.
The drugs were interdicted in international waters of the Caribbean Basin and the Eastern Pacific Ocean off the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America.
Coast Guard Cutter James crew is scheduled to offload approximately 28,000 pounds of seized cocaine worth an estimated $367million
Approximately 11,000 pounds of seized marijuana worth an estimated $10.1million is also scheduled to be offloaded at Port Everglades
Video footage showed rows and rows of the drugs bundled up aboard Coast Guard Cutter James (WMSL-754), a 418-foot legend-class cutter homeported in Charleston, South Carolina.
‘What you see is 19 tons of narcotics seized from 18 separate Coast Guard interdiction events, with a street value worth more than $375 million,’ said Captain Jeffrey Randall, Coast Guard Cutter James commanding officer.
‘These drugs will not reach Main Street USA due to the efforts of the James crew and other Coast Guard cutters involved in these interdictions.’
Drugs were interdicted in international waters of the Caribbean Basin and the Eastern Pacific Ocean off the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America
Crew conducted counter-drug operations with the cooperative efforts with regional partner nations like Columbia and Costa Rica
The seizures were a part of Operation Martillo ‘to stop the flow of illegal narcotics into the United States’.
Ten Coast Guard crews took part.
Cutter James’ crew was responsible for six interdictions seizing approximately 7,022 pounds of cocaine and 4,085 pounds marijuana.
While Cutter Northland only made two interdictions, it resulted in more than 12,214 pounds of cocaine being seized.
The Coast Guard Cutter Valiant crew was responsible for seizing two cases, together containing 4,184 pounds of the Class A drug.
Cutter Spencer’s crew made one interdiction seizing approximately 1,477 pounds of cocaine.
‘Due to this cooperative effort, we maintain an offensive against criminal networks and criminal organizations,’ Capt. Jeffrey Randall, continued.
The seizures were a part of Operation Martillo ‘to stop the flow of illegal narcotics into the United States’