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Nov 5, 2009 6:07 pm US/Eastern
Miami Coast Guard Offloads 5 Tons Of Cocaine
Cocaine Was Seized At Sea In 4 Separate Drug Smuggling Events
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
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Crewmembers from the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Valiant offload 5 tons of cocaine seized at sea in the month of October.
CBS
Five tons of cocaine, worth $127 million, was offloaded Thursday morning at the Coast Guard Base in Miami. The cocaine was seized at sea in four separate drug smuggling events in the Caribbean Sea in October.
The first seizure took place Oct. 10th when Valiant crewmembers recovered 39 bales of cocaine, weighing nearly 1,900 pounds, off the coast of Panama.
On Oct. 20th, two bales, or 100 pounds, were jettisoned by suspected smugglers off the coast of Columbia.
Five days later, Valiant crewmembers recovered 76 bales of cocaine, weighing nearly 3,500 pounds, off the coast of Panama and detained several suspects.
On Oct. 29th, Valiant crewmembers detained several suspects aboard a go-fast boat carrying 74 bales of cocaine, weighing about 3,700 pounds, off the coast of Nicaragua.
The combined 9.200 pound seizures will earn the Valiant four cocaine interdiction stickers that will be permanently displayed on the side of the ship.
Commander Dante Vinciguerra, commanding officer of the Coast Guard Cutter Valiant, said approaching the smugglers at night is very dangerous.
"It's very dark but fortunately my crew is well trained. They've trained extensively and that mitigates a lot of the danger that they have. They never let their guard down at all"
As part of a time-honored tradition, Coast Guard cutters that make drug seizures earn a snowflake sticker, representing a cocaine bust, or a marijuana leaf sticker, representing a marijuana bust, to display on the side of the bridge.
"I have a couple of local Miami guys sailing with us and it means a lot to them that their actions in the Coast Guard is stemming the flow of drugs into their hometown community," said Vinciguerra.
The contraband was transferred to various law enforcement agencies in Miami. The suspects were previously transferred to federal agents for further investigation.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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