MIAMI – Millions of dollars worth of cocaine was offloaded Monday by Coast Guard officials in Miami, authorities said.
Coast Guard officials said one of its aircraft spotted a go-fast boat Oct. 27 in the Caribbean Sea.
Recommended Videos
A Coast Guard crew and a 645-foot fast fleet tanker based in the United Kingdom responded to the area and detained five suspected smugglers and seized 14 bales of cocaine.
The 350 kilograms of cocaine and the smugglers were turned over to federal law enforcement officials in Miami.
Authorities said the drugs have an estimated wholesale value of $11.6 million.
"This seizure highlights how effectively the U.S Coast Guard and our Allied partners are working together to disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks that depend on the flow of illicit drugs from South America into the United States, the Caribbean and Europe," said Cmdr. Carmichael, deputy chief of enforcement for the Coast Guard 7th District.
Operation Martillo is a joint interagency and multi-national effort among 15 Western Hemisphere and European nations to stop drug trafficking.