Coast Guard Offloads $35 Million In Cocaine

Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew Hethcoat, with the Coast Guard Cutter Robert Yered, guards a pallet of seized cocaine at Coast Guard Base Miami Beach, Fla., July 20, 2013. Crew members aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Legare interdicted $35 million approximate wholesale value of cocaine. (Source: U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Mark Barney)

Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew Hethcoat, with the Coast Guard Cutter Robert Yered, guards a pallet of seized cocaine at Coast Guard Base Miami Beach, Fla., July 20, 2013. Crew members aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Legare interdicted $35 million approximate wholesale value of cocaine. (Source: U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Mark Barney)

MIAMI BEACH (CBS4) – A high-speed chase played out like a movie scene in the Caribbean Sea this week and the load of cocaine was brought to Miami Saturday morning.

A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter hunted down a boat carrying the massive load and was forced to use weapons.

“This is a big seizure, this is (showing drugs) 2,300 pounds of cocaine that will not make it to America,” said Lieutenant Commander Gabe Somma with the U.S. Coast Guard 7th District.

Forty two bales of cocaine were thrown overboard during the chase according to the Coast Guard.

“This continues to be an increasing trend were seeing in the central Caribbean,”said Lieutenant Commander Somma.

Earlier in July, the Coast Guard seized 1,250 pounds of cocaine off the coast of Costa Rica.

According to the Coast Guard, the smugglers have caught onto the enforcement and have changed their course to farther north toward the Dominican Republic, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico.

“Once you get the drugs over to Peurto Rico it’s much easier to get them here to the streets of South Florida,” said Lieutenant Mario Gil with District 7.

The smugglers were arrested after the chase earlier in the week and taken to Tampa.

Coast Guard officials placed a wholesale value on the drugs totaling $35 million.

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