What to Know
- Crew members from the cutter Hamilton stopped at Port Everglades on Tuesday morning, dropping off the nearly seven tons in drugs.
- Officials valued the total haul at approximately $190 million.
- A total of five different ships were involved in the seven cases that netted the seizure, taking place along the eastern Pacific Ocean.
Coast Guard officials offloaded a massive amount of cocaine seized in several operations with a street value of nearly $200 million dollars Tuesday morning in South Florida.
Crew members from the cutter Hamilton stopped at Port Everglades, dropping off the nearly seven tons in drugs.
A total of five different ships were involved in the seven cases that netted the seizure, taking place along the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean bordering Mexico as well as Central and South America.
“It truly is a team effort stopping these drugs from entering the United States, but more important than the drugs themselves are the arrests and the linkages these cases represent and the steps closer to dismantling the criminal networks that tried to move them into the United States,” Capt. Mark Gordon, commanding officer of the Hamilton.
Officials valued the total haul at approximately $190 million. Coast Guard officials say most of the drugs originated from Colombia and a total of 27 suspected smugglers were arrested, with 18 being brought to the United States.
"It's pretty nerve wracking but with all the training we are prepared, heavily prepared for chasing these guys down and doing intersections," said Adrian Cohen, a translator on the Hamilton and native of Hialeah.