After patrolling in international waters of the Caribbean Sea, the crew of the US ship “Forward (WMEC 911)” unloaded approximately 13,375 pounds of cocaine (6,066 kilos) in Port Everglades, Florida, with an estimated value of 176 million dollars, reported this Tuesday the Coast Guard.
According to a statement, the drug was unloaded at the Port Everglades seaport, on the east coast of Florida, last Thursday.
During the patrol, the “Forward” kept approximately 18,500 pounds (8,391 kilos) of cocaine on deck, with an estimated street value of $244 million, according to a statement.
Earlier this month, it adds, the ship transferred approximately 4,365 pounds (1,979 kilos) of cocaine to another US Coast Guard ship, the “Campbell (WMEC 909),” as well as 1,654 pounds (750 kilos) of cocaine to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration.
The “Forward”, a 270-foot ship with a home port in Portsmouth, Virginia, and a crew of 97 sailors, also intercepted three suspected drug traffickers and arrested 12 others, details the Coast Guard.
According to the federal agency, the drugs were intercepted in international waters of the Caribbean Sea by the crew of the “Forward” in coordination with the “HNLMS Holland”, the first ship of the Dutch high seas patrol vessels operating in the Caribbean.
“This patrol led to a significant removal of narcotics from the maritime domain. Opposing transnational criminal organizations is important to keeping our partners in the central Caribbean safe,” said Forward Commanding Officer Staci K. Rutsch.
“Working with the Dutch to support multinational interests in the Caribbean is very rewarding,” he added.
“The fight against drug cartels in the Caribbean Sea and transnational criminal organizations (…) requires unity of effort in all phases, from detection and monitoring to interception and seizure of the drug,” it says. the US Coast Guard.