US Coast Guard seizes record 76,140 lbs of drugs valued at $473 million

The U.S. Coast Guard announced a historic seizure of 76,140 pounds of illegal drugs valued at $473 million. It’s the largest amount of drugs seized in the U.S. Coast Guard’s history and was offloaded in Port Everglades in Hollywood, Florida, on Monday, Aug. 25, according to a news release.

Officials said the Coast Guard cutter crew seized 61,740 pounds of cocaine and 14,400 pounds of marijuana. 

‘Fight against transnational’ criminals

The agency called it “a significant victory in the fight against transnational criminal organizations.”

“To put this in perspective, the potential 23 million lethal doses of cocaine seized by the U.S. Coast Guard and our partners are enough to fatally overdose the entire population of Florida, underscoring the immense threat posed by transnational drug trafficking to our nation,” Rear Adm. Adam Chamie, Coast Guard Southeast District commander, said in a statement.

Upending drug operations and revenue

The U.S. Coast Guard reports that roughly 80% of drugs are intercepted on the high seas and drug seizures take away more than half a billion dollars in revenue for international drug smugglers.

The U.S. Coast Guard said the seized drugs were from 19 interceptions in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea between June 26 and Aug. 18. The operation also resulted in the detainment of 34 suspected drug smugglers and stopped nearly a dozen go-fast vessels, similar to speedboats, during the interceptions.

The agency also released videos of some seizures, including one showing an operation just 40 miles southwest of Haiti on Aug. 15. That operation led to the seizure of more than 1,615 pounds of marijuana. Another interdiction of two vessels on June 26, 115 miles southeast of the Galapagos Islands, resulted in the seizure of more than 8,800 pounds of cocaine.