First Snow of the Season: Coast Guard Offloading a Ton of Cocaine in Miami

Miami Beach experienced its first snowfall of the season this morning as Coast Guard officials offloaded nearly a ton of cocaine at their Miami Beach station this morning. Weighing in at 1,851 pounds, the 42 bales of cocaine are estimated to have a street value of about $22 million...

By Kyle Munzenrieder

November 23, 2012

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Miami Beach experienced its first snowfall of the season this morning as Coast Guard officials offloaded nearly a ton of cocaine at their Miami Beach station this morning. Weighing in at 1,851 pounds, the 42 bales of cocaine are estimated to have a street value of about $22 million.

The drugs were seized on October 28 in conjunction with the Royal Netherlands Navy ship HNLMS Van Amstel. While the Van Amstel was chasing a boat suspected of smuggling, the crew got nervous and threw the 42 bales overboard into the ocean.

The U.S. Coast Guard collected the drugs and will offload them this morning.

The seizure was part of Operation Martillo, the U.S. government's effort to stop the flow of illegal drugs and weapons into the country from Central America.

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