MIAMI, United States, CMC – The United States Coast Guard says it has seized 973 kilograms of cocaine from a Panamanian-flagged freighter in the Caribbean Sea on Wednesday.
It said that the drugs had a street value of more than US$32.4 million.
The Coast Guard said that the crew of the Tampa was on patrol in support of migrant and drug interdiction operations in the Windward Passage when they came across the suspect vessel.
It said the drugs were discovered in a hidden compartment.
“This is a huge win for the crew,” said Commander Clinton S. Carlson, adding “A boarding like this takes the concerted effort of all hands in one form or another, and the Tampa crew did magnificent and ultimately kept these drugs from crossing our borders”.
The Coast Guard said the 11 suspects and the narcotics had been handed over to the US Department of Justice, Southern District of Florida for prosecution.
