More than $11 million worth of drugs seized by the Coast Guard in the Caribbean was offloaded in Miami Beach Friday morning.
Some 254 kilograms of cocaine and 3,662 pounds of marijuana worth $11.8 million were brought to the Coast Guard Base Miami Beach.
The drugs were seized during Operation Martillo, an operation that includes the U.S. Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies, Coast Guard Officials said.
The cocaine was seized on Sept. 3, when a suspicious vessel was spotted southeast of Nicaragua. After stopping the vessel, a boarding team found the drugs in a hidden compartment, officials said.
That same day, the Coast Guard responded to three people clinging to a capsized vessel. While on the way, they found 68 bales of marijuana floating in the water.
Coast Guard officials say it's been a record year for drug seizures. Since October, nearly 130 metric tons of cocaine worth $4.3 billion have been removed, the most since 2008. Officials said 439 smugglers have been brought in for prosecution and 135 vessels have been seized, both record highs.
