U.S. Coast Guard has offloaded on Thursday more than 30 metric tons of cocaine and marijuana with an estimated cost of over $1 billion. The narcotics were seized at sea during months-long deployment off the coast of South America.

U.S. President Joe Biden administration's top anti-narcotics officials went to South Florida to welcome back the Coast Guard's vessel's crew and took pride in the agency's role in seizing illegal drugs before it reaches American soil, according to an Associated Press news report.

Dr. Rahul Gupta, head of the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy, said that the Biden administration is looking to increase the U.S. government's budget to establish the nation's addiction treatment infrastructure.

The budget would also reduce the supply of synthetic opioids like fentanyl and other drugs.

The recent drug bust highlights a recent surge in narcotics coming from Colombia, which is the world's top producer of cocaine.

In 2020, coca cultivation in Colombia jumped to 245,000 hectares, enough to produce 1,010 metric tons of cocaine, according to the White House's recent report on the Andean region.

Coast Guard's Drug Bust in Florida

The agency seized 54,500 pounds of cocaine and 15,800 pounds of marijuana, officials announced during a briefing at Port Everglades in Florida.

South Florida Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz said that the drug bust means a lot of "sad walks to doors that will never have to occur," according to Miami Herald News report.

Schultz was accompanied by U.S. Coast Guard Cutter James during the media briefing.

The James crew said that the recent drug offload is a "national security cutter."

Gupta said that the country is losing an American every five minutes around the clock with the usage of drugs, which could lead to fatal drug overdoses.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that fatal drug overdoses topped more than 100,000 annually from April 2020 to April 2021, which is an almost 30 percent increase from the previous 12-month period.

Officials have not released details regarding how many people were arrested in connection with the drugs. However, 30 people have been indicted in the U.S. Southern District of Florida Court since Wednesday on charges related to drug distribution.

Capt. Todd Vance, commander of the James, said that it is not just the drugs that are collected as evidence.

Vance noted that matchbook covers, pieces of paper, and satellite phones are also seized to help government agencies put together cases targeting the top officials of international drug trafficking organizations.

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Coast Guard's Largest Illegal Drugs Seizure

Last February, the Coast Guard has offloaded the largest number of illegal drugs in its history, costing more than $1.4 billion.

James crew offloaded about 59,700 pounds of cocaine and 1,430 pounds of marijuana, according to a USA Today report.

The Coast Guard noted at the time that it was the biggest offload in the vessel's history, with several Coast Guard units assisting, along with the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and Canadian partners.

Vice Adm. Steven Poulin, commander of the Atlantic area, noted at the time that the offload was a result of the combined efforts of their interagency partners and the dedicated international coalition.

Ten American, Dutch, and Canadian ships stopped the smuggling vessels.

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This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

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