The U.S. Coast Guard confiscated 30,000 pounds of illegal drugs at sea, a haul which included more than $408 million in cocaine and marijuana.
“The drugs were interdicted in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean off the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America, and in the Caribbean Sea including contraband seized and recovered during 11 interdictions of suspected drug smuggling vessels by four Coast Guard cutters and two U.S. Navy ships,” the U.S. Coast Guard wrote in a press release.
Coast Guard Adm. Karl Schultz told CBS Miami that the Coast Guard seized a majority of the drugs after April 1, the day the Trump administration announced greater counter-narcotics operations in the Western Hemisphere.
Coast Guard crews are offloading 23,000 pounds of cocaine and 6,900 pounds of pot in Port Everglades, Florida.
“Under the leadership of U.S. Southern Command and Joint Interagency Task Force South, Coast Guard and Navy forces worked side by side to stop the flow of illegal narcotics on the high seas before it could make landfall in Central America and continue its northward journey into the United States,” said Capt. Jeffrey Randall, commanding officer of the cutter James.
“Working alongside our partner agencies, we continue to take the fight to the drug cartels and make an impact on these criminal organizations who spread this poison on our streets. I couldn’t be more proud of my crew and their hard work,” he continued.