MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – The U.S. Coast Guard offloaded more than 12,000 pounds of cocaine in Miami Beach on Thursday, with an estimated street value of over $141 million, authorities confirmed.
“It’s a big win, big bust for us,” said Coast Guard Machinery Technician Third Class Colton Howell, after crews interdicted the drugs in the Caribbean Sea.
Authorities said the haul was the result of six different interdictions over a two-month patrol by the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Valiant.
Joint agency efforts helped intercept suspected drug smugglers and seize contraband before transporting it for disposal.
“With joint agencies, we were able to interdict suspected drug smugglers and contraband and brought it back to be disposed of,” Howell said.
Local 10 News went aboard the Valiant to witness the operation firsthand.
“We’re doing a drug offload with the cases we had while on patrol for the last two months,” Howell said.
The interdictions were carried out in coordination with multiple agencies.
“We were able to get in there once it got dark … have them overhead and move us in,” Howell added.
When smugglers refused to comply, Coast Guard crews took action.
“Once we got on scene, we were able to use the lights on our small boat and light them up, and we asked them to stop,” Howell said. “They didn’t comply, so we ended up disabling their vessel.”
Officials credited rigorous training for the successful seizures.
“When they zigged, we zigged. When they zagged, we zagged, and we disabled them and were able to get them stopped,” Howell said.