The United States Coast Guard says the crew of its Cutter James offloaded about 59,700 pounds of cocaine and 1,430 pounds of marijuana worth more than US$1.4 billion which was seized in the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.
According to CMC and other regional and international news agencies, the drugs were offloaded on Thursday August 5, in Port Everglades, Florida, and is the largest drug bust in the history of the US Coast Guard.
According to US Coast Guard Commander Vice Admiral Steven Poulin, the success of the bust is a result of the combined efforts with inter-agency partners and a dedicated international coalition.
He said, “The Canadian government and Canadian Defense Forces bring an incredible capability in defeating transnational organized crime, and I’m grateful to HMCS Shawinigan to showcase Canada’s commitment.”
He added, “Together, we will disrupt, defeat and degrade transnational organized crime… We will strengthen our efforts and continue to build collaboration and capability.”
Canada and US committed to expanding cooperation
Meanwhile, Canadian Defense Attache, Major General Paul Ormsby, said both Canada and the US are committed to expanding cooperation on defending North America against illicit trafficking and transnational crime and working together within their alliances.
“We know that no nation can do it alone, and we know that we are stronger together…The kind of cooperation that we see on the pier today is one of the thousands of impressive examples of cooperation every day,” he stated.
The US Coast Guard said the drugs were interdicted in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean off the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean Sea.
It included contraband seized and recovered during 27 interdictions of suspected drug smuggling vessels by 10 American, Dutch and Canadian ships.