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MIAMI BEACH: Approximately $41 million in drugs seized at sea by the Coast Guard are being offloaded at their Miami Beach base.
The 1,100 kilograms of cocaine and 4,420 pounds of marijuana were confiscated as part of Operation Martillo, an international effort to take down smugglers using Central America as a trans-shipment route for drugs, weapons, and cash.
As to why this is significant, the Coast Guard had this to say:
“This is very important because the Coast Guard and our partners in DHS [Department of Homeland Security] are really making an effort to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and to stabilize these countries in the Caribbean,” said U.S. Coast Guard Captain Melissa Bert. “In Central America, Puerto Rico and in cities across the United States, drugs fuel violence and so we’re really trying to stop that.”
In one of the seizures, a Coast Guard HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft spotted a suspicious go-fast boat southeast of Isla Saona, Dominican Republic on September 20th. A Coast Guard intercepted the boat as the people on board were dumping the drugs. Four packages were found floating in the water, multiple packages remained onboard. A boarding team recovered in total of 49 bales of marijuana weighing 2,450 pounds. The three people aboard the go-fast boat were taken into custody.
This has been a record year for the Coast Guard. Since October 2014, the Coast Guard has confiscated 130 metric tons of cocaine, approximately $4.3 billion, the most since 2008. In addition, the Coast Guard and its federal partners have brought nearly 500 smugglers in more than 200 cases in for prosecution and seized over 135 vessels, both record highs.
