Coast Guard seizes 16 tons of cocaine worth over $400M in Pacific
(FOX)- Officials from the U.S. Coast Guard unveiled the result of a series of massive drug busts over a 26-day period at a Florida port Tuesday which netted 16 tons of cocaine.
The seized cocaine has an estimated value of $420 million, officials said at a news conference at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale.
The drugs have a street value of over $1 billion, WSVN reported.
The nearly month-long mission in the international waters of the Eastern Pacific, which included U.S. Coast Guard, Canadian and interagency partners, involved 17 separate suspected drug smuggling vessel interceptions along Central and South America, the agency said in a news release.
The Coast Guard cutter James and HITRON aviation unit were alone responsible for five drug interceptions, which seized an estimated 5.19 tons of cocaine.
During the mission, seven vessels were stopped and at least 30 smugglers were brought into custody during the mission, officials said.