Coast Guard Intercepts 15 Tons of Cocaine and Marijuana, Offloads Illegal Drugs Worth Over $500M in South Florida

The U.S. Coast Guard offloaded tons of cocaine and marijuana at Port Everglades on Monday morning after authorities intercepted them at sea.

According to Local10, members of the U.S. Coast Guard showed off their latest drug haul as they offloaded their seized 26,250 pounds of cocaine and 3,700 pounds of marijuana.

U.S. Coast Guard Offloads Seized Illegal Drugs in Florida

The Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton crew brought the 15 tons of cocaine and marijuana, seized over a 24-day period, to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Capt. Matthew Brown, commanding officer of the Hamilton, said each kilo of cocaine represents "a life saved, a crime prevented, and money denied for criminal organizations," who were trafficking drugs to the U.S. and its neighboring countries.

Coast Guard officials said the intercepted illegal drugs have a street value of around $504 million, the largest drug interdiction in the ship's history. Authorities have also arrested and detained about two dozen suspects in this mission.

During the offloading process, cranes and other heavy machinery were needed to transfer the bales from the cutter. Coast Guard officials noted that the illegal drugs were collected during eight different interdictions in the Pacific and Caribbean regions and would be turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Vice Admiral Steven Poulin, commanding officer of the Coast Guard Atlantic Area, said drug trafficking organizations undermine the rule of law and "cause corruption, promote violence and weaken institutions."

U.S. Coast Guard Intercepts Illegal Drugs At Sea

According to Matthew Brown, the vessels that contained the illegal drugs were small and "going fast."

"They're on the high seas... There's typically three individuals on each vessel. That can vary from time to time," Brown noted.

Officials said several agencies, including DEA, Homeland Security, and the Department of Justice, worked together on the drug bust.

While drug seizures were not new for the U.S. Coast Guard, authorities said they were seeing more traffickers who were taking extreme risks while out at sea. The officials noted that drug traffickers even operate their vessels at night despite being overweight with the risk of sinking.

Brown said they saw the vessels "marked with these illicit cargo, with only a little bit of feet above the waterline." He added that the drug traffickers were operating out in extreme conditions, and from their experience, it's becoming "more and more the normalcy in that region."

"It's very hazardous, they're taking a lot of risk. The geometry that we're working with is sometimes 800 to 900, maybe even 1,000 miles offshore. Sometimes 800 to 900 miles in a different direction," Brown added.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Jess Smith

WATCH: Coast Guard To Offload $504 Million In Cocaine, Marijuana At Port Everglades - From CBS Miami