US Coast Guard joint operation seizes $63 million worth of cocaine at Florida port

MIAMI– A joint operation between the U.S. Coast Guard and the Royal Navy this week recovered 4,800 pounds (2,177 kilograms) of cocaine worth more than $63 million from a ship at a Florida port, according to the Coast Guard.

The seizure Thursday was the result of a joint operation between the two agencies, including two actions off the coast of Puerta Cabello, Venezuela, the coast guard said in a social media post. The post showed agents from both agencies loading large sealed containers from the ship onto pallets at Port Everglades in Florida.

It was the second time this week that the joint operation attacked a ship believed to be carrying drugs. In a news release Tuesday, a Coast Guard spokesperson said the team engaged a high-speed vessel in the Caribbean Sea believed to be smuggling narcotics.

The ship refused the order to stop and instead increased speed and changed direction towards the Dutch chase boat. The boat owned by Dutch and U.S. Coast Guard members opened fire on the boat in self-defense, U.S. Coast Guard officials said.

The ship caught fire and sank. Three suspected smugglers went overboard. The search for the smugglers was suspended on Tuesday, authorities said.