PORT EVERGLADES, Fla. – The U.S. Coast Guard offloaded about 10 tons of cocaine and 23 kilograms of heroin Tuesday that was seized in international waters off the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
The drugs are worth an estimated $300 million wholesale.
Coast Guard officials said the drugs were interdicted along Mexico and Central America by multiple U.S. Coast Guard cutters.
Officials said the drugs were taken from 14 drug smuggling vessels.
Below is a breakdown of each interdiction:
• The CGC Steadfast was responsible for one case, seizing an estimated 940 kilograms of cocaine.
• The CGC James was responsible for two cases, seizing an estimated 690 kilograms of cocaine.
• The CGC Alert was responsible for six cases, seizing an estimated 3,305 kilograms of cocaine and 23 kilograms of heroin.
• The CGC Aspen was responsible for one case, seizing an estimated 102 kilograms of cocaine.
• The CGC Vigorous was responsible for one case, seizing an estimated 1,150 kilograms of cocaine.
• The CGC Spencer was responsible for two cases, seizing an estimated 3,000 kilograms of cocaine.
• The CGC Thetis was responsible for one case, seizing an estimated 1,060 kilograms of cocaine.
"This offload today is not just the result of one unit, but the combined efforts of multiple Coast Guard cutters, aircraft and support, as well as that of our partners and allied men and women who continue to work day and night to stop these criminal organizations from profiting off transnational crime and smuggling," said Cdr. John Mctamney, commanding officer of the Coast Guard Cutter Spencer. "While this offload represents approximately 10 tons of illicit drugs that will never hit out streets, it also represents a significant depletion to the cash flow to these criminal organizations."
Coast Guard officials said there has been increased U.S. and allied presence in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Basin, which are known drug transit zones off Central and South America.