The U.S. Coast Guard just pulled off the largest cocaine offload in its history, seizing a jaw-dropping 76,140 pounds of cocaine and marijuana in a massive operation across the Eastern Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.
On Monday morning, the drugs… worth an estimated $473 million… were offloaded at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida by the Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton. Officials revealed that the 61,740 pounds of cocaine alone equals more than 23 million lethal doses… “enough to fatally overdose the entire population of Florida,” according to Rear Admiral Adam Chamie, commander of the Coast Guard’s Southeast District.
“This is the immense scale of the threat we face,” Chamie warned. The Hamilton’s crew spent two grueling months at sea, personally intercepting more than 47,000 pounds of cocaine while confronting violent smugglers. They were joined by multiple U.S. agencies, including the Department of Defense and Homeland Security, along with international partners such as the Royal Netherlands Navy and the crew of HNLMS Friesland.
In total, the operation involved 19 interdictions that kept the drugs from flooding U.S. communities. Chamie emphasized that maritime interdictions remain the most effective way to stop deadly drugs before they destroy lives at home.
“These men and women put themselves in harm’s way time and again. This is grueling and dangerous work, and I am extremely proud of them,” he said.
