NewsNational News

Actions

14 tons of cocaine displayed at San Diego pier

Posted at 8:25 AM, Apr 08, 2016
and last updated 2016-04-08 08:26:16-04

The US. Coast Guard has handed 14 tons of seized cocaine over to the Drug Enforcement Agency. Almost half their haul came from the bust of a submarine-like vessel.

The drugs, stacked on pallets, were unloaded by cranes on Thursday to the deck of a Coast Guard cutter docked at San Diego’s Broadway Pier before the DEA took custody of the narcotics.

The Coast Guard says the approximate 28,000 pounds of cocaine came from seizures off the coasts of Central and South America in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Dozens of smugglers were arrested.

The drugs, with an estimated street value of at least $400 million, were confiscated between late January and early March of 2016. Cutters Bertholf and Valiant were involved in the operations, along with the Naval ship USS Lassen.

The Coast Guard says more 12 thousand pounds of cocaine, almost half the haul, was pulled from a so-called “self-propelled semi-submersible” on March 3rd.

Other drug seizures were made from “go fast” fishing vessels and approximately 1,500 pounds of cocaine wrapped in bales were found floating in the sea, according to the Coast Guard.