The U.S. Coast Guard on Friday announced that it offloaded over $135.5 million worth of cocaine in Port Everglades.
According to the USCG, the roughly 17,750 pounds of cocaine that were seized were due to four interdictions that happened in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
The operation started on Jan. 25, when a go-fast vessel was detected, and crews interdicted the vessel, boarded it and seized 4,410 pounds of cocaine.
Six days later, on Jan. 31, three go-fast vessels were detected, and after interdicting and boarding them, 13,340 pounds of cocaine were seized.
The USCG released the following statement:
“I am extremely proud of the crew’s incredible performance and adaptability during this deployment,” said Capt. Lee Jones, commanding officer, Coast Guard Cutter Seneca. “This deployment demonstrates our enhanced posture and continued success in the fight against narco-terrorism and transnational criminal organizations. The Coast Guard, in conjunction with our inter-agency and international partners, continues to patrol areas commonly associated with drug trafficking in the Eastern Pacific, denying smugglers access to maritime routes by which they move illicit drugs to our U.S. land and sea borders.”