MIAMI – The U.S. Coast Guard says four suspects were taken into custody after 67 bales of marijuana were discovered Friday on Little Farmer's Cay in the Exuma island chain of the Bahamas.
Operation Bahamas Turks and Caicos, which consists of the Coast Guard, Royal Bahamian Police Force Drug Enforcement Unit and Drug Enforcement Administration, seized the bales of marijuana with an estimated wholesale value in excess of $2 million.
Authorities said the seizure is the second in a week and is a direct result of coordinated U.S. and Bahamian counter-narcotics effort, known as Operation Lion Fish.
According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the marijuana was discovered in a hidden cache on a remote cay and totaled 2,307 pounds.
Following the discovery, a helicopter crew deployed from Air Station Clearwater, Fla., transported the contraband to Bahamian law enforcement authorities in Nassau, Bahamas.
"The OPBAT team continues to protect both Bahamian and U.S. citizens from the dangers of illegal drug trade," said Cmdr. Mark Driver, director of Coast Guard OPBAT. "This drug seizure reinforces the importance of continued cooperation between the U.S Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Coast Guard and Royal Bahamas Police Force to combat illegal narcotic trafficking through the Bahamas."
--Photos courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard.