Coast Guard Offloads $504 Million In Cocaine, Marijuana At Port Everglades

PORT EVERGLADES (CBSMiami) – The US Coast Guard offloaded millions of dollars of drugs which were intercepted at sea at Port Everglades on Monday morning.

The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton offloaded approximately 26,250 pounds of cocaine and 3,700 pounds of marijuana worth more than $504 million.

"This is a big seizure," said Coast Guard Vice Adm. Steven Poulin. "This is a pretty sizeable load."

The drugs were seized in eight different eastern Pacific Ocean interdictions.

"Every kilo of cocaine on this flight deck represents a life saved, a crime prevented, and money denied for criminal organizations," said Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton Commanding Officer Matthew Brown.

The mission, said the Coast Guard, came with extreme risk.

"It's very hazardous, they're taking a lot of risk. The geometry that we're working with is sometimes 800 to 900, maybe even 1,000 miles offshore. Sometimes 800 to 900 miles in a different direction. We see these vessels marred with this illicit cargo with only a few feet above the water line. So, they're operating out in extreme conditions," explained Brown.

According to the Coast Guard, as many as two dozen people were detained in this mission.