Coast Guard crews began to offload over 28,000 pounds of cocaine and marijuana Thursday morning at a South Florida port.
Officials say the drugs, worth more than $228 million in street value, were offloaded at Port Everglades after the cutter Hamilton arrived before 8 a.m.
The drugs were captured during several interdictions in both the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean during recent operations.
“We will continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute all transnational criminal organizations and cartels that threaten our national health, safety and security," said U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan from the Southern District of Florida
No information was released on the capture of 28 suspected drug runners made during the operations, which captured 11,500 pounds of cocaine and 17,000 pounds of marijuana.
“28,500 pounds of illicit drugs will not be entering our nation’s parks, neighborhoods and playgrounds,” said Coast Guard Rear Admiral Andrew Tiongson.
The capture was a huge sense of pride for those Coast Guard members involved.
U.S. & World
“Every time we pull this amount of drugs out of the water...there’s a huge sense of self-satisfaction from the entire crew in what we’re doing out here,” said Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton Capt. Timothy Cronin.
