The U.S. Coast Guard offloaded around 46,000 pounds of illegal narcotics at Port Everglades, valued at over $517.5 million. CBS News Miami reported that crews from U.S. Coast Guard cutters Stone and Mohawk intercepted these drugs during 14 separate encounters in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
The haul included more than 22.5 tons (45,000 pounds) of cocaine and 50 pounds of marijuana. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called the operation historic, stating, "Today is a historic day. Here at Port Everglades, over 22.5 tons, or 45,000 pounds, of cocaine and 50 pounds of marijuana, valued at over half a billion dollars, are going to be offloaded and taken out of circulation. This is an unprecedented seizure of illicit drugs that is the result of 14 different interdictions of drug smuggling vessels," according to CBS News Miami.
A press conference will be held at 10:30 a.m. today to provide further details about the operation, as reported by WSVN. This offload event occurred just two weeks after the Coast Guard seized over 12,471 pounds of narcotics worth more than $141 million at Base Miami Beach during an operation in the Caribbean Sea.
Secretary Noem emphasized the importance of these actions, stating, "That means that fewer families are going to be torn apart by addiction. That fewer lives are going to be lost to overdoses, that communities will be safer and fewer resources will be at the hands of dangerous violent cartels that seek to do all us harm," as reported by CBS News Miami.
