Coast Guard Cutter Tahoma's crew offloaded more than 7,500 pounds of cocaine in Port Everglades, Monday with an estimated street value of $143.5 million, according to a U.S. Coast Guard news release.
The discovery comes after three interdictions in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
On April 16th, a maritime patrol flight spotted a vesselĀ and a Coast Guard law enforcement detachment teamĀ apprehended five suspects and nearly 4,000 pounds of cocaine from the low profile vessel, the news release said.Ā
The vessel was destroyed as aĀ hazard to navigation.
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Four days later another maritime patrol flight spotted a vesselĀ and Tahoma's law enforcement team apprehended four suspects with 2,400 pounds of cocaine from the low profile vessel, the news release said.Ā
That vessel was also destroyed as a hazard to navigation.
On April 23rd, while on patrol, a Tahoma crewmember found cocaine bales floating in the water. The bales were recovered totaling nearly 1,200 pounds of cocaine.
Local
In early April, U.S. Southern Command increased counter-narcotics operations in the Western Hemisphere to disrupt the flow of drugs.
Numerous U.S. agencies from the Departments of Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security cooperated in the effort to combat transnational organized crime, the release said.
