A U.S. Coast Guard cutter crew offloaded tens of thousands of pounds of cocaine and almost 4,000 pounds of marijuana Wednesday that were seized during an anti-smuggling tour off South and Central America.
The Cutter Tampa’s crew returned to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale ferrying 29,600 pounds of cocaine and 2,355 pounds of marijuana. The drugs, which the Coast Guard said have a value of about $226.7 million, were displayed on the Tampa’s deck during a news briefing.
“Their resounding teamwork during complex operations is astounding,” Capt. Joshua DiPietro, the Tampa’s commanding officer, said in a statement. “I commend them on their tremendous tenacity and true camaraderie as they worked through long days and nights to successfully complete difficult cases and continue the disruption of transnational criminal organizations.”
The Tampa is a 270-foot medium endurance cutter based in Portsmouth, Virginia, according to the Coast Guard…