MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – The U.S. Coast Guard on Friday offloaded more than $3 million in drugs seized in the Caribbean Sea.
Coast Guard crews seized an estimated 2,100 pounds of marijuana and 35 kilograms of cocaine in separate interceptions just a day apart from each other.
The first interdiction was made by the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Paul Clark last Friday. The Coast Guard recovered about 220 pounds of marijuana in a boat that was abandoned off the coast of Haiti. The drugs were worth an estimated $199,600.
The next day, the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Charles Sexton seized about $2.8 million worth of cocaine and marijuana from a boat they stopped in the Caribbean Sea.
Upon seeing the Coast Guard, the people on board began dumping bails of contraband into the water and then tried to get away. All five people were taken into custody and arrived Friday at the Coast Guard Station Miami Beach. They face federal drug trafficking charges.
Coast Guard officials showed off their stash Friday, as well as the Paul Clark, one of the Coast Guard's newest fast-response cutters.
"They can accomplish a lot of different tasks and the other team -- in our case, the bad guys -- they don't want to play against these guys," Capt. Mark Fedor said.