The US Coast Guard has seized a record-breaking $473million (£352m) worth of cocaine and marijuana in a massive drugs bust.
Crew aboard Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton offloaded around 61,740lbs of cocaine and 14,400lbs of marijuana – a staggering 76,140lbs of narcotics in total – at Port Everglades, Miami, on Monday (25 August), as reported by Need To Know.
Officials say the haul, the result of 19 separate operations in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, equates to around 23 million potentially lethal doses.
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Rear Adm. Adam Chamie, Coast Guard Southeast District commander, said: “This represents a significant victory in the fight against transnational criminal organisations, highlighting our unwavering commitment to safeguarding the nation from illicit trafficking and its devastating impacts.
“To put this into perspective, the potential 23 million lethal doses of cocaine seized by the US 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 added that the seizures not only denied criminal gangs more than half a billion dollars in revenue, but also provided “critical testimonial and drug evidence as well as key intelligence for their total elimination”.
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