PORT EVERGLADES, Fla. – The U.S. Coast Guard offloaded 12 tons of cocaine and one ton of marijuana at Port Everglades on Tuesday.
Authorities said the drugs, worth an estimated wholesale value of $390 million, were seized in international waters in the Eastern Pacific Ocean during 17 interdictions.
The interdictions happened off the coasts of Mexico and Central and South America with the assistance of Canadian Naval vessels, authorities said.
"These drugs are coming into our streets, and they create instability for regional partners south of the border," said Cmdr. Jonathan Carter, commanding officer of the cutter Legare.
Carter said the boats used to smuggle drugs are "specifically designed to evade law enforcement. Low-profile, meaning that they are built low to the water line, sticking out usually 6 inches."
Six of the 11 people arrested in the drug busts were brought to the U.S. aboard the Legare. Local 10 News reporter Carlos Suarez was told they are from Ecuador, Colombia and Costa Rica.
"What these numbers represent is an increased commitment by U.S. and international partners to combat transnational criminal networks and promote stability in the Central American region, along the U.S. southern border, and in the southern maritime approaches to the U.S.," said Cmdr. Jonathan Carter, commanding officer of the cutter Legare. "Today's offload sends them a message that our network of partners and allies remains resolute in our commitment to stem the flow of illicit trafficking that breeds instability."
The haul is impressive and is setting the year to be a record-breaking one.
The demand for drugs in the U.S. remains strong and the resources being made available to fight it is growing.
"This year, we are already on pace to equal what we indicted last year, and what we indicted last year was a record, and what we interdicted before that was a record," Carter said.
