The drugs were interdicted in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
MIAMI, Fla. – The U.S. Coast Guard unloaded eight tons of cocaine seized in international waters Monday morning.
The drugs were interdicted in the waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean drug transit zone off the coast of Central and South America.
11 suspected smuggling vessels and one bale were recovered by the Coast Guard in the operation.
The amount of cocaine seized was worth about $214 million, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, Southeast.
The Coast Guard Cutter Seneca was responsible for five cases, seizing an estimated 10,000 pounds of cocaine. The USS Lassen and an embarked Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment is credited with seven interdictions stopping some 6,000 pounds of drugs.
The Coast Guard has increased U.S. and allied presence in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Basin, which are known drug transit zones off of Central and South America, as part of its Western Hemisphere Strategy.
