by Emmitt Barry, with reporting from Washington D.C. Bureau Staff
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.(Worthy News) – The U.S. Coast Guard has announced the largest drug seizure in American history, confiscating more than 76,000 pounds of illegal narcotics valued at $473 million during operations in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea.
The unprecedented 76,140-pound haul, conducted through 19 interdictions between late June and mid-August, included over 61,000 pounds of cocaine and nearly 16,000 pounds of marijuana. Officials called the bust a major blow against transnational cartels smuggling drugs into the United States.
“This represents a significant victory in the fight against transnational criminal organizations, highlighting our unwavering commitment to safeguarding the nation from illicit trafficking and its devastating impacts,” said Rear Adm. Adam Chamie, commander of Coast Guard District Seven. “These men and women put themselves in harm’s way time and again to stop the bad guys, apprehend the smugglers, and seize the drugs.”
Chamie underscored the danger posed by the haul, noting that the cocaine alone — 61,740 pounds — equals about 23 million potentially lethal doses. “That’s enough to fatally overdose the entire population of the state of Florida,” he said.
The seizures were tied to Operation Pacific Viper, a new Homeland Security initiative designed to surge maritime interdictions before smuggling networks can reach U.S. shores. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem described the operation as an aggressive push to “stop the cartels and criminal organizations” at sea.
The first seizure under Pacific Viper took place on June 26, when a maritime patrol aircraft detected two vessels near the Galapagos Islands. Coast Guard crews intercepted more than 8,700 pounds of cocaine in just two days.
Video footage released Monday showed smugglers tossing contraband overboard as the Coast Guard closed in, before being captured by the Cutter Hamilton. The narcotics were offloaded pallet by pallet at Port Everglades, Florida, on Aug. 25, marking the historic seizure.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
A group of radical Hindu nationalists violently attacked a small Christian congregation in Maharashtra, India, on February 10, leaving a pastor seriously injured and forcing believers to flee their village.
U.S. officials are raising concerns about the potential presence of Iranian “sleeper cells” inside the United States, as tensions escalate following recent American and Israeli strikes on Iran.
Federal investigators say a man who carried out a violent vehicle-ramming attack at a Michigan synagogue earlier this month was driven by extremist propaganda linked to Hezbollah, underscoring growing concerns about foreign terror influence reaching U.S. soil.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has confirmed that Iran’s Arak heavy water production plant was destroyed following a targeted strike attributed to the Israel Defense Forces, marking a significant escalation in efforts to dismantle Tehran’s nuclear infrastructure.
Thousands of troops from the 82nd Airborne Division have begun arriving in the Middle East, according to U.S. officials, as President Donald Trump considers expanded military options in the ongoing conflict with Iran.
U.S. President Donald Trump delivered a stark ultimatum Monday, warning Iran that failure to reach a ceasefire agreement in the coming days would trigger a sweeping and devastating assault on the country’s critical infrastructure.
The Knesset approved a controversial law Monday mandating the death penalty for certain terrorist acts, marking a historic shift in Israel’s judicial approach to terrorism.