The U.S. Coast Guard has seized more than 50 tons of cocaine worth an estimated $1.4 billion in one of the largest maritime drug operations in recent history.
Coast Guard crews conducted 34 separate seizures between early August and early October across the Eastern Pacific Ocean, a region long recognized as a primary corridor for drug smuggling routes linking South and Central America to the United States, according to ABC News.
The operation resulted in the arrests of 86 people who authorities say were linked to transnational criminal organizations involved in the cocaine trade.
This announcement comes after the U.S. Coast Guard surged assets in the region, with the military branch spending the last two months attempting to “interdict, seize and disrupt transshipments of cocaine and other bulk illicit drugs.”
“Through Operation Pacific Viper, the Coast Guard is accelerating counter-drug operations in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, where significant transport of illicit narcotics continues from Central and South America,” Coast Guard officials stated in a news release.
Rear Adm. Jeffrey Novak, deputy commander of U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area, called the seizure of over 100,000 pounds of cocaine a “remarkable achievement” and commended the work being done by all those involved.
“When we say the Coast Guard is accelerating counter-narcotics operations, we mean it. Alongside our partners and allies, our maritime fighting force is scouring drug smuggling routes in the Eastern Pacific and dismantling narco-terrorist networks,” he said. “As we mark our interdiction of 100,000 pounds, we are already working towards the next milestone.”
The Coast Guard’s operation follows a series of major narcotics seizures reported across U.S. borders in recent months.
Earlier this month, Customs and Border Protection officers in Laredo, Texas, confiscated nearly $4.5 million worth of cocaine hidden in a tractor-trailer at the World Trade Bridge, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Similarly, CBP discovered 70 packages of cocaine worth more than $2.3 million hidden in a tractor-trailer at the Hidalgo port of entry in September.