In 24-Hour Period Close to $1 Billion Worth of Cocaine Seized
In two separate incidents in a 24-hour period, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) operating out of Corpus Christi, Texas, detected two go-fast vessels carrying more than 10,000 pounds of cocaine with a combined value of more than $779 million.
On March 2, a CBP operating in the Western Caribbean spotted a go-fast vessel loaded down with suspicious bales. The 35-foot twin-engine vessel was spotted speeding north off the coast of Colombia and appeared to be loaded with numerous packages when the vessel was tracked.
The U.S. Coast Guard inspected and found 4,400 pounds of cocaine worth more than $329 million.
The next day, during routine patrols in the Western Caribbean a four-engine, open-hull go-fast vessel loaded with rectangular bales off the coast of Costa Rica, was detected.
Local law enforcement officials were called in to pursue, and the vessel ran aground in Nicaragua, where the four crew members fled into the jungle, leaving behind approximately 6,000 pounds of cocaine worth more than $450 million.
These two seizures are in addition to an $82 million seizure detected out of Jacksonville, Fla. In the last week, CBP have accounted for $861 million in cocaine seizures.