Three people were arrested by the Coast Guard after the seizure of 1,685 kilograms (1.7 tons) of cocaine, valued at approximately $28 million, found on a vessel during an offshore operation off Miami Beach.
The drugs were discovered last Tuesday on a suspected cargo ship about two miles east of Government Cut, the channel that connects Biscayne Bay to the Atlantic Ocean, the Coast Guard reported Friday.
The operation was led by the Coast Guard, with support from Customs and Border Protection’s Air and Marine Operations (CBP AMO) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Agents conducted the initial interdiction and used specialized maritime units and advanced search tools.
“This was the largest cocaine seizure by a Coast Guard small boat station since 1995,” said Lieutenant Matthew Ross, commanding officer of the Miami Beach station.
Once the vessel arrived at the dock, the Port of Miami’s Office of Field Operations (OFO) alerted authorities to multiple hidden compartments within the ship.
An inspection revealed more than 1,000 packages of cocaine.
