Illustrating a blockbuster summer of drug seizures in the Caribbean Sea, the Coast Guard offloaded approximately 1,100 kg of cocaine and 4,420 lbs. of marijuana with an estimated wholesale value of $41 million at Coast Guard Base Miami Beach on Tuesday. The dugs were seized in three separate interdictions as part of Operation Martillo and Unified Resolve.
"These seizures highlight how effectively the U.S Coast Guard and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection are working together to disrupt the flow of illicit drugs from South America into the United States and Caribbean nations," said Cmdr. Timothy Cronin, deputy chief of law enforcement for the Coast Guard 7th District. "We have to keep these drugs from penetrating our borders. More importantly, we have to get after the organized criminal networks that fuel the violence and instability in the Western Hemisphere."
Coast Guardsmen offload bales of cocaine and marijuana on Sept. 29, 2015. USCG photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Mark Barney.The summer interdictions — including a massive July 19 semisubmersible seizure — have been part of a banner year for the Coast Guard on both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. Since October 2014, the agency reports that it has removed 130 metric tons of cocaine worth $4.3 billion, the most since 2008. In addition, the Coast Guard and its federal partners have brought nearly 500 smugglers in more than 200 cases in for prosecution and seized more than 135 vessels, both record highs.
