MIAMI: The Coast Guard unloaded cocaine with an estimated value of about $17 million at its base in Miami Beach.
The 550 kilograms (1,212 pounds) worth of the drug brought on shore from the Coast Guard Cutter Bernard C. Webber were confiscated as part of “Operation Caribbean Venture,” the agency said.
On Nov. 15, a maritime patrol plane from the Joint Interagency Task Force South located a suspicious go-fast vessel carrying multiple packages southeast of Isla Beata, Dominican Republic, the Coast Guard said.
Assisted by the Royal Netherlands Navy, 22 packages that tested positive for cocaine were recovered from the go-fast boat and four suspected smugglers were transferred to U.S. authorities for prosecution.
In a statement, Cmdr. Timothy Cronin, deputy chief of law enforcement for the Coast Guard 7th District said: “This seizure highlights how effectively the U.S Coast Guard and our Allied partners are working together to disrupt the flow of illicit drugs from South America into the United States, the Caribbean, and Europe.”
The Coast Guard says that since October 2014 the agency has seized more than $7 billion worth of cocaine and, along with its federal partners, has brought more than 500 smuggers in 200 cases in for prosecution.
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