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Coast Guard Offloads $1.9M Worth Of Marijuana In Miami Beach

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A major, high-seas marijuana seizure was offloaded Friday morning by the Coast Guard in Miami Beach.

Crewmembers removed 2,058 pounds of pot, worth $1.9 million, at Coast Guard Base Miami Beach.

Federal agents seized the 48 bales of marijuana on a speedboat in the Caribbean during the early evening hours of Wednesday, April 23rd.

"The Coast Guard 65 Helicopter located the go fast vessel," said Lieutenant Meaghan Gies of the U.S. Coast Guard. "They vectored in the Coast Guard Cutter Dependable's small boat with a boarding team."

The boarding team successfully stopped the speedboat and when they got on board, they found the bales of pot.

"The boarding team apprehended the four suspected smugglers that were on board that go fast, took custody of the drugs, and transferred them to the dependable," said Gies.

The whole operation lasted between two and three hours. The wholesale value of what was seized is estimated at $1.9 million.  The estimated street value is close to $6 million.

So far this year, nearly 9,000 pounds of marijuana have been seized in Caribbean waters.

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