Coast Guard unloads 6 tons of seized cocaine in Florida

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The Associated Press

A Coast Guard Cutter James crew member and a crane operator work to place straps around a pallet of cocaine being offloaded in Port Everglades, Fla., May 10, 2018. The cutter James crew offloaded approximately 6 tons of cocaine worth an estimated $180 million dollars. (Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Lally/Coast Guard)

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The Coast Guard has unloaded six tons (5,400 kilograms) of cocaine in Florida following several seizures of the drug at sea.

Coast Guard officials said Thursday in a news release the drugs are worth an estimated $179 million. The cocaine was seized in six separate interceptions of smuggling vessels off the Pacific coasts of Central and South America and Mexico.

The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter James takes a moment for a group photo before offloading approximately 6 tons of cocaine worth an estimated $180 million in Port Everglades, Fla., on May 10, 2018. (Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Lally/Coast Guard)

Three Coast Guard cutters were involved in the seizures. The 418-foot cutter James brought the drugs ashore at Port Everglades, near Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Officials say the Coast Guard has increased its presence in known drug transit zones of the Easter Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sean.

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The Associated Press