The U.S. Coast Guard has achieved an important victory in the ongoing fight to combat illegal drug trafficking. They took 76,333 illegal drugs off the coast of Florida. This operation marks the largest drug offload in the Coast Guard’s 110-year history of maritime law enforcement, a significant milestone in the ongoing battle against transnational criminal organizations.
Authorities have made a record cocaine seizure at Port Everglades, Florida. During that time, they unloaded an estimated 61,740 pounds of cocaine and 14,400 pounds of marijuana. The Litter Corps operation occurred June 26 – August 18. It resulted in 19 interdictions in the international waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. The combined estimated street value of drugs seized is more than $473 million.
Adam Chamie, rear admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, commander of the Coast Guard’s southeast district In his speech, he underscored the size of the cocaine bust, explaining that it could provide enough for 23 million fatal doses. He noted the severe implications for public safety, saying, “To put this into perspective, the potential 23m lethal doses of cocaine seized by the US Coast Guard and our partners are enough to fatally overdose the entire population of the state of Florida, underscoring the immense threat posed by transnational drug trafficking to our nation.”
While this operation was very successful, it highlighted an amazing collaboration between multiple interagency units. They were joined by the Department of Homeland Security, a Dutch naval vessel, two U.S. Navy warships, and three Coast Guard cutters. As Captain John B. McWhite, commanding officer of the Hamilton cutter, noted after all was said and done about their efforts, “What we did worked.” He reported that during this operation, they “interdicted 11 go-fast vessels, detained 34 suspected drug traffickers and seized a record 47,000 pounds of cocaine.”
The U.S. Coast Guard further elaborated on the larger effects drug trafficking has on communities and Americans as a whole. They noted that “these drugs fuel and enable cartels and transnational criminal organizations to produce and traffic illegal fentanyl, threatening the United States.”
Frank Marrano, the other chief architect of this operation, told us that he takes pride in the teamwork that resulted in these seizures. He stated, “All of these interdictions and drugs – it is the result of four months of hard work that the crew has put in, not only the crew but all of our sister agencies and our partner nations.” He further added, “To be able to take positive steps to keep the United States safe from these drugs makes the difficult days worth it.”