Biggest drug bust ever? US Coast Guard seizes 27.000 kilograms of cocaine and marijuana worth €1.2 billion.

by druginc

Biggest drug bust ever? US Coast Guard seizes 27.000 kilograms of cocaine and marijuana worth €1.2 billion.

The U.S. Coast Guard recently announced it had a record-breaking amount of cocaine and... marihuana in a drug bust in Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The illicit narcotics, worth more than $1,4 billion, was "the largest shipment in Coast Guard history," according to a press release.

“The offload of this record catch is the result of our concerted efforts by our partners between the agencies and a committed international coalition,” said Vice Admiral Steven Poulin, commander of the Atlantic area.

U.S. Coast Guard crewmen Cutter James unloaded approximately 59.700 pounds of cocaine and approximately 1.430 pounds of marijuana. The Coast Guard said there were 27 incidents in which suspected drug smuggling ships were stopped by several US, Dutch and Canadian vessels in international waters of the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean Seas.

“Every bale of cocaine in this cockpit that doesn't make it to our shores represents lives saved in New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles or any other city in the US that's been dealing with pandemic drug overdose levels this year,” said Captain Todd Vance, a commander of the Cutter James, at a news conference.

Images shared by the Coast Guard show the sheer magnitude of the seized drugs and those involved in the operation.

Huge drug bust in the United States

The press release said that the coastguard will work with US law firms in several districts to bring justice to those responsible for the illegal shipments.

Last July, authorities in Southern California seized more than 16 tons of marijuana worth an estimated $1,19 billion, according to the then Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The 10-day sting was the largest eradication of illegal marijuana cultivation in the department's history.

More than $2019 billion worth of cocaine was seized in the Port of Philadelphia in 1, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. They said the drug bust yielded about 16,5 tons of narcotics from a cargo ship docked at the Packer Marine Terminal. It was the largest cocaine seizure in history in Pennsylvania's Eastern District at the time.

Sources including CBSNews (EN), Florida News (EN), independent (EN), Navy Times (EN)

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