MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — A record-setting haul for the U.S Coast Guard was brought in last week following a major drug bust miles from the Miami Beach shoreline.

It happened last Tuesday around 11 a.m. as a Coast Guard response boat was conducting a routine patrol and noticed a 65-foot sport fisher heading west towards the coast, just two miles away from Government Cut.

After boarding and inspecting the vessel, officials allegedly discovered it had been packed with drugs that were all hidden in secret compartments.

In all, more than 3,700 pounds of cocaine was found stuffed into the boat’s bulkhead.

That amount is worth nearly $28 million on the street, making is the biggest drug bust by a single Coast Guard station in the last 30 years.

“Let me be clear, this is what unwavering maritime vigilance looks like,” said U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Frank Florio. “This is what aggressive border enforcement looks like.”

Investigators took the three people on board the boat into federal custody, all three said to be from outside the U.S.

While officials have not released their nationalities, they say the drugs they were suspected of smuggling came from the Caribbean.

The vessel involved in this case was different than the other suspected smuggling boats that have recently been the target of U.S. drone strikes in other regions.

“The stakes could not be higher,” said Florio. “Transnational drug trafficking fuels violence, destabilizes communities, and threatens the security of our borders. Every load we stop means lives saved, criminal networks weakened, and national security strengthened.”

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