FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Officials with the U.S. Coast Guard have released photos from a drug seizure on the water near Port Everglades over the weekend.
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The photos display an array of suitcases, but, as the cargo placed in front of them shows, they weren’t packed for a pleasure cruise.
Instead, officials said they were each filled with bricks of cocaine — 253 in total, weighing about 1 kg each — neatly wrapped for transport. They estimated the drugs have a street value of about $6.3 million.
Coast Guard crews said the illicit drugs were bound for a marina in Dania Beach before crews intercepted the 36-foot Sea Ray named “Bella Vita,” also pictured, on Saturday evening.
Authorities said James Edward White, 35, of Miami Gardens, was the only person aboard.
They said he admitted to “working for a known alien and narcotics smuggler” and took the drugs from the Bahamas to South Florida after first being told he was picking up migrants.
White now faces federal charges of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and attempting to import a controlled substance.
Court records show he made his initial appearance in Fort Lauderdale federal court on Monday.
He’s scheduled to face a judge for a pre-trial detention hearing on Monday and is scheduled to be arraigned on April 7.