Over 14K pounds of cocaine worth $186M intercepted off Florida coast
Credit: U.S. Coast Guard
U.S. Coast Guard crews intercepted more than 14,000 pounds of cocaine priced at $186 million from Miami on Friday, a news release shows.
The drugs were unloaded during nine separate cases in the international waters of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.
Coast Guard officials said 12 suspected smugglers were apprehended and face prosecution in federal courts by the Department of Justice.
Several crews within the Coast Guard helped intercept the drugs:
- USCG Bear (WMEC 901)
- USCG Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON)
- USS Little Rock (LCS-9)
- USCG Tactical Law Enforcement Team-Pacific
- USCG Tactical Law Enforcement Team-South
- USCG Donald Horsley (WPC-1117)
- USCG Air Station Borinquen HC-144 aircrew
- A U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Air and Marine Operations (AMO) aircrew
"The contraband offloaded today represents the professional expertise and dedication of U.S. defense and law enforcement agencies working together to combat the flow of illicit drugs through the Caribbean Region into the United States," said Lt. Peter Hutchison, duty enforcement officer at Coast Guard District Seven. "This teamwork is imperative to the identification, interception, and seizure of vessels engaged in illicit trafficking and a testament to the hard work of these crews."
The Joint Interagency Task Force South in Key West, Florida conducts detection and monitoring of aerial and maritime transit of illegal drugs.
Once interdiction becomes imminent, the law enforcement phase of the operation begins, and control of the operation shifts to the U.S. Coast Guard throughout the interdiction and apprehension.