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$61 million in cocaine seized by Coast Guard

By FOX 5 Atlanta Digital Team
Published  April 23, 2023 5:18pm EDT
U.S. Border Security
FOX 5 Atlanta
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Coast Guard Cutter Northland crewmembers offloads bales of illegal narcotics in Port Everglades, Florida, April 18, 2023. The Northland is homeported in Portsmouth, Virgina. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Ryan Estrada)

PORT EVERGLADES, Fla. - The US Coast Guard says this weekend millions of dollars’ worth of cocaine was intercepted at sea.

According to a post Saturday on the US Coast Guard Southeast’s Facebook page, nearly 1,500 kilograms of cocaine were seized, and nine people were arrested.

The majority of the cocaine was seized about 71 miles south of the Dominican Republic. The Coast Guard says three people were arrested there.

Photos, also shared to the page, show the 22 bales of cocaine being unloaded from the Coast Guard Cutter Forward.

The illegal drugs have a street value of about $61 million.

The entirety of the contraband ended up being just over 3,200 pounds, or the weight of a NASCAR sixth-generation car without a driver.

The Coast Guard says the bales will be destroyed once the nine people have been prosecuted.

This story is being reported out of Atlanta