More than nine tons worth an estimated street value of nearly $240 million, was offloaded by the Coast Guard in San Diego on Wednesday.
The 18,219 pounds of the drug were seized in six separate interdictions between Nov. 7-24 off the coasts of Mexico, South America and South America, the Coast Guard announced in a news release. The Departments of Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security, all collaborated in the drug captures.
The largest bust took place on Nov. 20, when the Coast Guard vessel Waesche intercepted a self-propelled semi-submersible carrying more than 5,500 pounds of cocaine.
The Waesche is a national security cutter homeported in Alameda, California that is 418 feet long and patrols where large amounts of narcotics trafficking occur.
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"All four of our interdictions on this patrol are crucial to the Coast Guard’s efforts to keep illicit drugs off the streets, but our last interdiction of a semi-submersible vessel was noteworthy since it was the first semi-submersible interdicted in the Eastern Pacific in over three years,” said Capt. Robert Mohr, commanding officer of the Waesche.
U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath expressed gratitude for the Waesche's crew for its efforts in keeping drugs from reaching the streets.
"Without these nine tons of cocaine on American streets, fewer people will have access to this toxic poison, and hundreds of millions of dollars will not make it into cartel coffers," McGrath said.
This year alone, the U.S. has seized more than 81,000 pounds of cocaine, making it the third most-seized drug behind marijuana and methamphetamine, according to data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
