The U.S. Coast Guard on Friday offloaded nearly two tons of cocaine from one of its ships in Florida.
The Coast Guard Cutter Tampa hauled in the huge load of 1,580 kgs of cocaine that resulted from multiple seizures in the Caribbean, the Coast Guard announced.
A portion of the cocaine, 820 kgs, came from a Dec. 20 seizure by two Coast Guard cutters. The remainder was seized by a U.S. Coast Guard team that was operating aboard a Royal Netherlands Navy ship on Dec. 22.
The commanding officer of the USCGC Tampa, Cmdr. Nick Simmons, commented on the work that led to drugs' offloading in the St. Petersburg, Fla. port.
"This offload represents nearly two tons of illicit drugs that will never hit our streets," Simmons said. "This is the result of the combined efforts of our partners and allied men and women who continue to work day and night to stop these criminal organizations from profiting off transnational crime and smuggling."
The wholesale value of the seized cocaine is about $46.7 million.
