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'Cocaine sharks' may be swimming off Florida coast
Thousands of sharks off Florida's coast may have ingested bales of cocaine left in the water by drug smugglers attempting to get their product into the United States. Its the subject of a Discovery Channel Shark Week show called "Cocaine Sharks." LiveNOW's Carel Lajara spoke to FOX 35 Orlando's Esther Bower about the unbelievable headline. More LiveNOW from FOX streaming video
MIAMI - U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Tampa’s crew offloaded approximately 3,825 pounds of cocaine on Thursday at Base Miami Beach.
3,825 pounds of cocaine seized
By the numbers:
The cocaine was worth more than $28.7 million and enough to kill more than 1.4 million Americans, according to the Coast Guard.
The seized contraband was the result of two interdictions in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean through Operation Pacific Viper.
What they're saying:
"This crew's performance over the last 74 days has been nothing short of phenomenal," said Cmdr. Joshua DiPietro, commanding officer of Tampa. "From qualifying several pilots, tie downs, landing safety officers, and helicopter control officers for aviation operations at the start of the patrol to seizing nearly $45 million in illicit narcotics, their teamwork during complex operations was truly impressive. They met every challenge head-on, working seamlessly with our partner agencies and international allies to disrupt transnational criminal organizations."
The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Tampa offloaded about 3,825 pounds of cocaine in Miami, valued at over $28.7 million. (Credit: U.S. Coast Guard)
The Coast Guard noteed that 80% of interdictions of U.S.-bound drugs occur at sea, underscoring their efforts of maritime interdiction in combating the flow of illegal narcotics.
Coast Guard operation previously seized more than 215,000 pounds of cocaine
The backstory:
Since its inception under President Donald J. Trump, Operation Pacific Viper has accelerated counter-drug operations in the Eastern Pacific, a primary corridor for narcotics smuggling from Central and South America, according to the Coast Guard.
RELATED: Cocaine worth $468M seized by Coast Guard in massive drug bust
Under the leadership of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, the Coast Guard said it will continue deploying overwhelming force against the cartels, cutting off the flow of drugs into the United States.
In February, the Coast Guard seized 200,000 pounds of cocaine, and since launching its operation last August, the Coast Guard seized over 215,000 pounds of cocaine and apprehended 160 suspected narco-traffickers.
The Source: The information for this story was provided by the Department of Homeland Security. This story was reported from Los Angeles.