If, perhaps, you've ever wondered what a billion dollars worth of cocaine looks like, you would have had a rare chance to see it in person at Port Everglades in Florida in late March. That's because according to Coast Guard News, the US Coast Guard was there to offload 16 tons of cocaine with a street value of roughly a billion dollars.
The wholesale value of the seized cocaine is nothing to sneeze at either (of course, it's never a good idea to sneeze at cocaine anyway), estimated at $420 million. The drugs were the end result of 17 different interdiction operations performed over the course of 26 days and by "Canadian crews and interagency partners" joining the Coast Guard in their efforts. Coast Guard Atlantic Area commander Vice Adm. Karl Schultz was quoted as being predictably enthusiastic about the seizures:
"I am extremely proud of the crew of Coast Guard Cutter James and our embarked HITRON aviation detachment for a highly successful inaugural patrol. Our persistent maritime presence in drug trafficking zones from cutters like James, enables us to interdict bulk quantities of drugs at sea, preventing criminal networks' illicit cargoes from reaching the shores of Central America, and land routes into the United States."
It's not every day you see 16 tons of cocaine in one place at one time, so appreciate it in the photo above while you can.
