MIAMI – The United States (US) Coast Guard on Tuesday said the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Forward offloaded in Port Everglades, Florida more than 7,302 pounds of cocaine with an assessed street value of about US$96 million, interdicted in the Caribbean Sea.

The US Coast Guard said its crews, working alongside interagency and international partners, interdicted the illegal drugs during three separate cases.  “This was another vital success of our combined drug interdiction efforts,” Lieutenant Commander Juan Ramirez said. “These drug offloads underscore our continued partnerships with the US Navy and the Royal Netherlands Navy in combating the flow of illicit narcotics across the Caribbean.”

“The success of our joint efforts to save lives by reducing the availability of these harmful drugs is dependent on our cooperation with regional and international partners,” he added. The US Coast Guard said three suspected smugglers will face prosecution in US federal courts by the Department of Justice. “Detecting and interdicting illegal drug traffickers on the high seas involves significant interagency and international coordination,” said the US Coast Guard.

“Once interdiction becomes imminent, the law enforcement phase of the operation begins, and control of the operation shifts to the US Coast Guard throughout the interdiction and apprehension,” the US Coast Guard continued. It said interdictions in the Caribbean Sea are performed by members of the US Coast Guard under the authority and control of the Coast Guard’s Seventh District, headquartered in Miami. (Jamaicaobserver)…[+]