PORT EVERGLADES, FLA. (WSVN) - The U.S. Coast Guard offloaded a big bust at Port Everglades.
The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Spencer (WMEC 905) offloaded approximately 4810 kilos of cocaine, worth over $160.3 million, Wednesday.
The USCG said in a news release, eight suspected smugglers were apprehended and face prosecution in federal court by the Department of Justice.
The USCG said the offloaded drugs were interdicted during three separate cases in the international waters of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean by multiple crews, including:
- USCGC Spencer (WMEC 905)
- USS Milwaukee (LCS 5) with embarked USCG Law Enforcement Detachment 104
- Royal Netherlands Navy Ship HNLMS Holland (P840) with embarked USCG Law Enforcement Detachment 401 and a USCG Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron helicopter
“Initially, a suspect vessel is detected and monitored by U.S. or allied military or law enforcement personnel coordinated by Joint Interagency Task Force-South based in Key West. Once interdiction becomes imminent, the law enforcement phase of the operation begins, and control of the operation shifts to the U.S. Coast Guard throughout the interdiction and apprehension,” the USCG said. “Interdictions in the Caribbean Sea are performed by members of the U.S. Coast Guard under the authority and control of the Coast Guard’s Seventh District, headquartered in Miami.”
According to the Coast Guard, USCGC Spencer is used for law enforcement, search and rescue, migrant interdiction, homeland security and international training. The vessel patrols the offshore waters from Maine to Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean, the Eastern Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.
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