High Seas: US and Netherlands authorities intercept 8,500 pounds of cocaine worth $245m and arrest 13 drug smugglers during 45-day sting operation in the Caribbean Sea

• At least 8,500 pounds of cocaine were seized during 45 days of patrol of the Caribbean Sea, according to the United States Coast Guard
• The shipments are worth approximately $245 million  
• At least 13 suspects from Colombia and Dominican Republic were taken into custody during 11 sea encounters

More than four tons of cocaine has been intercepted on ships smuggling narcotics in the Caribbean during a 45-day sting operation led by the US Coast Guard, officials said.

The 8,500 pounds of cocaine, with a value of $245 million, was offloaded from a Coast Guard vessel at a Florida port following a series of interdictions, the U.S. Coast Guard said Saturday.

At least 13 suspected drug smugglers from Colombia and the Dominican Republic were arrested in 11 incidents involving the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Dauntless and the HNLMS Friedland of the Royal Netherlands Navy. 

At least 8,500 pounds of cocaine worth about $245 million were offloaded at a port in Miami on Friday, the United States Coast Guard revealed

The 8,500 pounds of cocaine were seized during 11 interdictions carried out by the United States Coast Guard and the Netherlands Navy

Coast Guard crew removes some of the 8,500 pounds that were intercepted in the Caribbean Sea

‘The Coast Guard’s strong international partnerships, counter threats in the maritime domain, protect each of our countries from transnational organized crime, and work to stabilize and promote good governance in the region,’ said District Seven duty enforcement officer, Lt. Paul Puddington.

The Coast Guard was unable to say where the cocaine was being smuggled to and from after it offloaded the drugs at a Miami port.

The arrests come six weeks after the Coast Guard cutter James dropped off 30 tons of cocaine and marijuana worth over $1 billion at Port Everglades in Florida. 

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Dauntless offloaded $245 million worth of cocaine Friday in Miami

The 54,500 pounds of cocaine and 15,800 pounds of marijuana offloaded February 17 followed months of interdictions of drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean.

Coca cultivation in Colombia in 2020 soared to 245,000 hectares (945 square miles), enough to produce 1,010 tons of cocaine, according to the White House’s latest report on harvesting trends in the Andean region. 

As recently as 2014, potential production was less than half that amount. Production in Peru and Bolivia has also steadily risen.

Source: Read Full Article