The U.S. Coast Guard offloaded about 21 tons of cocaine from the Coast Guard Cutter Waesche in San Diego on Monday.
The drugs had been seized by the crew of the U.S. Coast Guard cutters over the course of four months in international waters off the coast of Central and South America.
According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the Eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Basin are known to be popular routes for drugs to travel through off of Central and South America.
[G] U.S. Coast Guard Seizes 21 Tons of Cocaine
There is an increased Coast Guard presence in the region for this reason.
“The transnational criminal organizations behind the drug trade spread violence and instability wherever they operate. There are thousands of deaths in the U.S. each year from cocaine overdose, and the production, transportation, sale and use of cocaine exact a very heavy human and social price throughout the Western Hemisphere and beyond,” said Rear Admiral Joseph Servidio, commander of 11th Coast Guard District.
An additional eight tons of cocaine was offloaded in Miami earlier on Monday while the rest were brought to San Diego.
