Coast Guard unloads 14 tons of seized cocaine

SAN DIEGO, April 8 (UPI) -- The U.S. Coast Guard turned over 14 tons of cocaine seized from marine drug smugglers in the Pacific Ocean, some using submarine-type vessels, to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.

The drugs, with a street value of some $400 million, were unloaded on pallets using a crane from a Coast Guard cutter on Thursday. The haul comes as a result of 14 marine operations between late January and early March from cutters Bertholf and Valiant, and the USS Lassen with a Coast Guard law enforcement detachment aboard.

Some 6.4 tons of haul came from a single bust from a self-propelled semi-submersible on March 3. Another 1,500 pounds of cocaine bales were found floating. Dozens of smugglers were arrested.

"Taking tons of deadly drugs off the street and apprehending dozens of suspected smugglers not only saves lives here at home, but it also disrupts the efforts of international drug trafficking organizations who spread violence and instability wherever they operate," Rear Admiral Joseph Servidio, commander of the 11th Coast Guard District, said.

The Coast Guard, working from cutters, U.S. Navy ships and international partner nation ships, seized more than 158,000 pounds of cocaine in the Eastern Pacific drug traffic zone in fiscal year 2015. That's more than the totals in 2012, 2013 and 2014 combined, the Coast Guard said.