The U.S. Coast Guard is offloading more than $93 million worth of seized cocaine in Miami Beach Thursday morning.
The approximately 2,800 kilograms of cocaine will be offloaded by Coast Guard Cutter Legare at the Coast Guard Base Miami Beach, according to a statement from the Coast Guard's 7th District.
According to the Coast Guard, the drugs were seized in two separate interdictions in the Caribbean, the first coming on Aug. 23 when a U.S. Customs and Border Protection aircraft spotted a suspicious vessel north of the Gulf of Uraba.
Crewmembers on a Coast Guard helicopter witnessed suspected smugglers dump several packages into the water. The crewmembers were able to recover 32 bales that later tested positive for cocaine. Four suspects were taken into custody.
The second incident happened Aug. 28, when a CBP aircraft spotted a suspicious vessel off the coast of Panama. Coast Guard crewmembers boarded the 165-foot Panamanian-flagged freighter Hope II and found 1,493 kilograms of cocaine on board, officials said. The eight crewmembers were taken into custody.
The operations were part of Operation Martillo that counters drug trafficking.
