U.S. Coast Guard Delivers $180 Million Worth of Cocaine to Port Everglades

 

On Monday, the crew of the Coast Guard cutter USCGC Hamilton delivered more than seven tonnes of cocaine to the pier in Port Everglades, Florida, enough for one gram for every inhabitant in the Miami metro area. But this cocaine is not for sale - it has been seized by the government and will be destroyed, taking revenue away from criminal smuggling gangs. 

The drugs were seized by the crew of the Hamilton over the span of three and a half months in the smuggling transit zones in U.S. Southern Command. An embarked Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) assisted with halting suspect vessels. 

In addition to the drugs, six smuggling suspects were caught and transferred to federal custody for prosecution. 

Cocaine smugglers intercepted off Panama, 1,100 nautical miles south of the U.S., Nov. 17 

“I’m proud of our accomplishments during this three-and-a-half-month deployment,” said Capt. Justin Carter, commanding officer of USCGC Hamilton. “The exceptional crew of Hamilton, with the support of an aircrew from Coast Guard Helicopter Interdiction Squadron, demonstrated the greatest professionalism, seamanship and airmanship while executing this important and challenging mission at sea in service to the nation.”  

Courtesy USCG

If these drugs had been delivered to the U.S. market and sold, the haul would have been worth about $180 million at wholesale, according to the Coast Guard. Most cocaine on the Central American route is transferred to more lucrative overseas markets via key smuggling ports, like Colon, Panama. If shipped to Australia on this smuggling pipeline, the same seven-tonne cargo would be worth roughly $700 million at wholesale.

Coca cultivation and cocaine production in Colombia - the primary nation of origin - are currently at all-time highs. Coupled with massive demand in the developed world, cocaine exports are a growing multibillion-dollar industry for rural communities and decentralized trafficking organizations in South and Central America.

"So long as a kilogram of cocaine in Colombia sells for $2,000 and fetches up to $25,000 in the United States, $35,000 in Europe, $50,000 in Asia, and up to $100,000 in Australia, the drug trade is going to remain vibrant and adapt to changes in supply, transport, and demand conditions. And it will adapt fast," wrote analysts Jeremy McDermott and Steven Dudley of InSight Crime earlier this year.