14,000 POUNDS OF COKE WITH A WHOLESALE VALUE OF $190 MILLION HAULED IN BY SEVEN USCG BUSTS

U.S. Coast Guard Brings in 7 Tons of Cocaine

By Joe Cavaretta

Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel
February 15, 2018

PORT EVERGLADES, Florida -- Traffickers continue to use the eastern Pacific Ocean as a transit route for drugs and the U.S. Coast Guard — and other international agencies — continue to pursue and catch them.

The estimated 14,000 pounds of cocaine that arrived at Port Everglades Tuesday morning aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton is the result of seven recent busts of suspected drug smuggling boats, officials said.

The offloaded drugs have a wholesale value of about $190 million and were seized by five different Coast Guard crews in international waters off the coasts of Mexico and Central and South America, according to the agency.

The Hamilton, Northland, Diligence, Venturous and Harriet Lane were the cutters involved in the interdictions.

The effort to interrupt drug trafficking in the eastern Pacific involves numerous U.S. agencies teaming up with international partners to locate, track and ultimately board vessels suspected of carrying drugs.

“It truly is a team effort stopping these drugs from entering the United States,” said Capt. Mark Gordon, the Hamilton’s commanding officer.

In recent years, the Coast Guard has made it a regular practice to showcase the offloading of seized drugs at various ports in Florida and elsewhere in order to emphasize the ongoing effort to deter narco-traffickers.

The agency’s efforts have been noticed by some people with a stake in public health.

“We value the courageous and heroic work to stop these drugs from entering our country. We honor the work of interdiction and law enforcement alongside prevention and recovery to keep our communities safe,” said Gonzalo Cadima, director of the United Way of Broward County’s Commission on Behavioral Health and Drug Prevention.

More than two dozen people connected to the alleged drug smuggling have been detained, officials said. Eighteen were brought to the U.S. while the others were taken to another country.

The seized drugs will be tested by federal authorities and then given to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to be processed for evidence before being disposed.