US Coast Guard seizes $110 million worth of cocaine in the Caribbean

The U.S. Coast Guard said Tuesday it had seized an estimated $110 million worth of cocaine during two recent operations in the Caribbean, one of which the organization confirmed took place between Colombia and Nicaragua.

The combined bust of 3,300 kilograms (3.63 tons) is “one of the largest in a long time,” Petty Officer 3rd Class Mark Barney told AFP.

The first seizure occurred south of Jamaica on March 15, where the Coast Guard found about 97 bales containing some 2,400 kilos of cocaine floating near a fishing boat suspected of smuggling drugs. The estimated wholesale value of the find is $80 million.

The second operation, on March 19, involved a Colombian-flagged boat with five Colombian nationals on board that have been handed over to authorities in their homeland.

The Coast Guard pursued the vessel in the southwest Caribbean Sea, firing warning and disabling shots that prompted the crew to dump 900 kilos of cocaine worth an estimated wholesale value of $30 million.

Both finds were transferred to federal authorities Tuesday in Miami, Florida, in the United States.