U.S. Coast Guard Offloads Historic $1.4B Worth of Cocaine, Marijuana at Florida Port

The U.S. Coast Guard has offloaded $1.4 billion worth of cocaine and marijuana at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Thursday, following a three-month patrol.

According to a press release, the more than 61,000 pounds worth of cocaine and marijuana was the largest offload in Coast Guard history.

Vice Admiral Steven Poulin, commander of the Atlantic area, said the offload resulted from the combined efforts of their inter-agency partners and an international coalition, CBS News reported.

Coast Guards' Historic Seizure

In particular, around 59,700 pounds of cocaine and about 1,430 pounds of marijuana were offloaded. These illegal narcotics were double the amount they seized in the fall of 2020.

The Coast Guard noted that there were 27 incidents in which various American, Dutch and Canadian ships in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean off the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean Sea stopped suspected drug smuggling vessels.

In a press conference on Thursday, Captain Todd Vance, who is the commanding officer on the Cutter James, said every bale of cocaine on the flight deck that did not make it to the shores represents lives saved in the cities and towns in the U.S. that's dealing with pandemic levels of drug overdoses this year.

He noted that his crew and his Canadian allies dealt a "significant blow" in the agency's fight to stop illegal drugs, New York Post reported.

Officials said the sailors had used small boats, helicopters, and people on land to conduct the apprehension of the illegal narcotics.

USCG Operations Specialist 2nd Class Jonathan Centerno said it just shows that they are doing their jobs, but a lot more has to be done, KIRO 7 reported.

The seized narcotics will be transferred to an interagency team that will work with the U.S. Attorney's Office to prosecute the alleged drug traffickers. So far, the Coast Guard noted that this was also the most historic drug bust of the agency.

Drug Trafficking

Heroin seizures worldwide have reached a record level of 73.7 metric tons in 2018, with much of the heroin being seized in the Middle East and South-West Asia, according to a United Nations fact sheet. It was followed by South-East Europe and Western and Central Europe.

Meanwhile, cocaine was used by some 16 to 17 million people in 2007 and 2008 across the world, with North America accounting for more than 40 percent of global cocaine use.

Some 27 European Union and four European Free Trade Association countries accounted for more than a quarter of total consumption.

Cocaine is commonly transported from Colombia to Mexico or Central America. It would then travel onwards by land to the United States and Canada. In Europe, the illegal narcotic is being traveled mostly through the sea, usually in container shipments.

Colombia is still the main source of the drug in Europe. On the other hand, United States imports its shipments from Peru and the Plurinational State of Bolivia.

In 2016, the top five districts for drug trafficking were Texas, its western and southern district; Arizona; southern district of California; and District of New Mexico, according to a Drug Abuse fact sheet. The majority of traffickers were male in 2016, with an average age of 36.

This article is owned by Latin Post

Written by: Mary Webber

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