The United States Coast Guard (USCG) reported on Friday the seizure of some 2,177 kilos of cocaine off the coast of Venezuela, valued at about $63 million.
“This charge is the result of two interdictions,” reported the Coast Guard service of the southwestern part of the United States, and added that these were two different joint operations with the Royal Netherlands Navy and the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard.
The drug cache was unloaded Thursday in Port Everglades, Broward County, authorities reported.
The events occurred in the early hours of the morning last Tuesday when a ship of the Royal Netherlands Navy together with a police detachment of the US Coast Guard doing anti-drug patrol “identified a vessel suspected of smuggling narcotics in international waters.” .
The suspects fled and the coast guard opened fire. The speedboat caught fire and sank. Three of the smugglers disappeared and their bodies have not been recovered. This Friday, the joint authorities of the Netherlands and the United States suspended the search, according to release of press.
“The decision to suspend active search efforts is not one we take lightly, and the Coast Guard is working to investigate the incident in accordance with Coast Guard policy,” the statement said. Coast Guard District Seven public affairs.
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