US Coast Guard offloads $27M cocaine seized in two Caribbean operations
The US Coast Guard offloaded 3,622 lbs of cocaine worth $27M seized in two Caribbean Sea interdictions. Four detainees were handed to federal agents at Port Everglades.
Caribbean cocaine seizure: 3,622 lbs offloaded at Port Everglades
The United States Coast Guard offloaded approximately 3,622 pounds of cocaine — valued at an estimated US$27 million — at Port Everglades, Florida, on Wednesday, jamaica-gleaner.com reports. The drugs were seized during two separate interdiction operations in the Caribbean Sea.
Four individuals detained during the operations were simultaneously handed over to federal agents for further investigation.
"The offload is from two interdictions resulting in the seizure of the illicit narcotics and the apprehension of four detainees in the Caribbean Sea," the Coast Guard said in a statement.
Lieutenant John Colucci, commanding officer of Coast Guard Cutter William Trump, credited the results to a coordinated effort involving Joint Interagency Task Force South, US Customs and Border Protection, the Coast Guard Southeast District, and international partners across the region.
"I'm incredibly proud of the crew of CGC William Trump in their ability to carry out this high-risk mission in a safe, efficient and professional manner," Colucci said. "Their success directly prevented illicit narcotics from reaching our shores and disrupted the operations of transnational criminal organisations throughout the Western Hemisphere."
The Coast Guard described the seizures as part of its sustained campaign to block illegal drugs from entering American communities and to disrupt the criminal networks behind the trade. Federal agents took custody of the four detainees pending further investigation, the agency confirmed.
Source: Google News JM — Crime