Coast Guard seizes 8.5 tons of drugs

The drugs include a ton of marijuana and 7 tons of cocaine, the Coast Guard says.

By null,
© St. Petersburg Times
published April 27, 2003

MIAMI - The Coast Guard seized 8.5 tons of illegal drugs from four speedboats last week, including 7 tons of cocaine.

The drugs were brought to shore at Mayport and Miami on Saturday, said Petty Officer Carleen Drummond, spokeswoman for the Coast Guard.

The cocaine was seized from three boats in international waters west of Panama and Columbia, Drummond said.

She did not have information about any suspected smugglers. The cocaine was unloaded at Mayport.

On Tuesday, a Coast Guard plane saw a boat north of Cuba with 38 bales, or 2,000 pounds, of marijuana.

Three suspected smugglers were taken into custody and turned over to U.S. Customs officials in Miami, Drummond said. The suspects' names were not released.