The Westside Gazette

Weigh to Go: Coast Guard’s Three Ton Cocaine Haul

FLORIDA, USA – The Coast Guard Cutter Campbell crew and crane operator offloaded approximately 7,250 pounds of cocaine at Port Everglades in Florida in the United States on Feb. 4.

A video shared by United States Coast Guard officials shows footage confirming the seizure of cocaine from international drug smugglers that is worth almost $100 million.

The United States Coast Guard officials Campbell crew offloaded more than three tons of cocaine estimated to be worth more than $97 million in an operation to obstruct transnational crime organizations.

The Coast Guard crew apprehended the contraband from drug runners in the Pacific Ocean, then transferring the contents to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on 4th February 2021.

Cocaine crack (a cheaper and less pure form of cocaine) and cocaine powder together make the highest percentage of drugs smuggled in the United States. As per a report by United States Sentencing Commission, cocaine crack makes up 9.5 percent of the drugs smuggled to the US, and cocaine powder makes 20.5 percent of the total drugs.

As per American Addiction Center, a large portion of the drugs coming in the United States are from Mexico.

“The DEA puts much of its focus on trafficking from Mexican drug cartels because not only do they control a large share of the drug smuggling into the U.S., they are also responsible for much of the drug distribution within the U.S” states the American Addiction Center.

The recent data about drug smuggling in the USA show that cocaine trafficking is on a downward trend whereas trafficking related to methamphetamine and heroin has been on a constant increase since 2009.

The number of drug overdose deaths was 67,367 as of 2018 as reported by the Centres for disease control and prevention.

Drug overdose deaths more than doubled from 2000 to 2015, and deaths involving opioid more than tripled during the same time frame. In 2000, the death rate from drug poisoning was 6.2 per 1000,000 people and in 2015, the rate jumped to 16.3 per 100,000 people.

“With an influx of trafficked drugs, users cannot be sure if what they are buying is truly a prescription opioid or if it’s laced with other harmful adulterants like fentanyl, carfentanil, or pink. In 2014, 129 people died every day from a drug overdose, and 2017 saw a majority of overdose deaths involving synthetic opioid” states a study published by JAMA.

Drug-poisoning deaths increased from 17 415 in 2000 to 52 404 in 2015, the age-adjusted death rate per 100 000 population increased from 6.2 to 16.3, with most of the increase related to opioid deaths

“The Campbells crew patrolled the Eastern Pacific Ocean in support of enhanced counter-narcotics operations in the Western Hemisphere to disrupt transnational criminal organizations” said the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service on their website along with pictures of the operation.

The Campbell ship routinely patrols parts of the Atlantic Ocean, starting from the Gulf of Maine up to the Caribbean Sea, especially designed and prepared for carrying out multiple mission tasks in law enforcement.

The video shows of the drugs weighing 7,250 pounds (2.3 tonnes) being offloaded were shot by United States Coast Guard video by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jose Hernandez.

(Edited by Ojaswin Kathuria and Vaibhav Vishwanath Pawar.)



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