The U.S. Coast Guard reached a historic milestone on Monday by offloading more than 76,000 pounds of illicit drugs at Port Everglades, Florida, with an estimated street value of $473 million.
The haul included roughly 61,740 pounds of cocaine and 14,400 pounds of marijuana, marking the largest drug offload in Coast Guard history.
The massive seizure was the result of 19 coordinated operations across the Eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea between late June and mid-August.
Multiple Coast Guard cutters, aviation units and international partners collaborated with federal and Department of Defense agencies to disrupt transnational drug trafficking networks.
Rear Adm. Adam Chamie, commander of the Coast Guard Southeast District, highlighted the significance of the operation.
“To put this into perspective, the potential 23 million lethal doses of cocaine seized by the U.S. Coast Guard and our partners, are enough to fatally overdose the entire population of the state of Florida, underscoring the immense threat posed by transnational drug trafficking to our nation,” he said.
Chamie described the interdictions as a “significant victory in the fight against transnational criminal organizations.”
The interdictions began when maritime patrol aircraft spotted suspicious “go-fast” vessels near Ecuador, according to the agency’s press release.
Helicopter