Coast Guard Returns With $338 Million From Overseas Drug Busts

It used to be that gold and rubies were the bounty of the high seas, now it appears that cocaine has taken their spot. The United States Coast Guard has returned to port in San Diego on Monday morning with nearly 20,000 pounds of cocaine confiscated from overseas drug busts. The shipment totals over $338 million in street value.

Fox 5 San Diego reports that the haul was gathered over eight separate busts from mid-November to mid-January. They were made in an area of the eastern Pacific Ocean that is frequently used for drug trafficking. Encounters that lead up to busts are often dramatic and dangerous, like something out of an action film. In July, authorities released a video of a Coast Guard member leaping onto one of the subs while it was still moving, pounding on the hatch and arresting smugglers in a bust that yielded 16,000 pounds of cocaine.

The delivery of the nearly 10 tons of cocaine, which was seized in an area of the eastern Pacific Ocean commonly used by drug traffickers, was no less dramatic. Crews unloaded the drug packages and officials held a news conference to announce the most recent round of busts at Naval Base San Diego Monday morning.

Captain Jim Estramonte pointed out the enormous sacrifice that went in to bringing in such a large haul. “For this patrol it meant missing Christmas and New Year’s. But that time away was worth it, as it allowed Munro to disrupt the cycle of the violence and crime that comes from the transnational narcotics trade,” he said.

The Coast Guard reports that four ships were responsible for the busts: the Thetis, Resolute, Tampa and Munro. To date, the seized amount of cocaine is one of the most valuable in the history of the Coast Guard or any other law enforcement entity.