The US Coast Guard seized 76,140 pounds of narcotics from smugglers on the Florida coast, marking the largest drug bust by the Coast Guard in its history.
The narcotics seized amount to an overall worth of $473 million. Over two billion dollars worth of drugs have been intercepted by the Coast Guard since the beginning of the year.
Adam Chamie, Rear Admiral Coast Guard Southeast District commander, commented on the bust and its significance in preventing fatalities in the US through narcotic use and overdose.
“The U.S. Coast Guard in partnership with our federal, DoD, and international partners are offloading 61,740 pounds of cocaine,” Chamie said. “To put this into 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 the state of Florida, underscoring the immense threat posed by transnational drug trafficking to our nation.”
The Coast Guard also revealed that 34 drug trafficking suspects were detained during the bust.
The seizure was made in light of the Coast Guard’s Operation Pacific Viper, an initiative announced on August 20. The goal of the operation is described as sending “a surge in forces to the Eastern Pacific to stop the cartels and criminal organizations – cutting off drugs and human smuggling before it reaches American shores.”
“80% of illicit drug seizures occur at sea. The U.S. Coast Guard is surging maritime interdictions in the Eastern Pacific to stop the cartels and criminal organizations—cutting off drugs and human smuggling before it reaches American shores,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem commented.
According to Defense News, prior to Monday’s bust, the biggest one was made in 2021, consisting of over ten-thousand pounds less narcotics.
