The crew of the US Coast Guard national security cutter Hamilton offloaded approximately 5,200 kilograms of cocaine and approximately 7,700 kilograms of marijuana worth more than US$228 million at Port Everglades, Florida, on Thursday, August 27.
The drugs were interdicted in the international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean off the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America, and in the Caribbean Sea.
Coast guard cutters and US Navy ships seized and recovered contraband during 13 interdictions of suspected drug smuggling vessels. Hamilton was responsible for nine of the interdictions, seizing approximately 4,400 kilograms of cocaine and 4,000 kilograms of marijuana in total.
The destroyer USS Nitze was responsible for two interdictions while the navy patrol ship USS Shamal and the coast guard medium endurance cutter Resolute were responsible for one seizure each during the same period.