Apr 24, 2007 12:23 am US/Central
Coast Guard Seizes 20 Tons Of Cocaine
Bust Was The Largest Maritime Seizure Of Cocaine By A U.S. Agency
ALAMEDA, Calif. (CBS) ―
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Bales of more than 40,000 pounds of cocaine worth $500 million which was offloaded at Coast Guard Island in Alameda. (File)
AP
The U.S. Coast Guard on Monday began unloading more than 40,000 pounds of cocaine seized from three ships off the Central American coast, including one bust called the largest in U.S. maritime history.
The Coast Guard boarded a 330-foot ship heading north off the Pacific coast of Panama last month and discovered about 38,000 pounds of cocaine in two shipping containers, officials said.
The bust was the largest single sea-based seizure of cocaine by a U.S. agency, Coast Guard Petty Officer Brian Leshak said.
In another bust off Panama's coast last month, a Coast Guard cutter chased down a cigarette-style speedboat carrying about 2,000 pounds of cocaine, officials said.
The Coast Guard in February intercepted an Ecuadorian-flagged fishing vessel allegedly loading cocaine into speedboats off Mexico's coast.
The fishing vessel's crew set fire to their ship to destroy the evidence and tried to flee in the speedboats, but were caught, according to the Coast Guard. About 900 pounds of cocaine were seized.
A total of 32 crew people were detained in the three busts.
The Coast Guard released a statement thanking its members for their "succesful patrol," adding that the drugs will be carried of the ship stacked and counted.
The cocaine, with an estimated street value of $500 million, will be turned over the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, which will take the drugs to Miami to be destroyed, the Coast Guard said.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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