U.S. Coast Guard seizes 567 kilograms of cocaine

By Dialogo
July 02, 2013

MIAMI, U.S.A. – Crew members of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Northland on July 1 unloaded 567 kilograms of cocaine it seized during a counter-narcotics operation in the Pacific Ocean off the Costa Rican coast on May 29.
Lt. Cmdr. Gabe Somma, a Miami Coast Guard spokesperson, said six suspects were arrested in connection with the seizure.
The U.S. Coast Guard interdicted about 236,000 pounds of cocaine worth US$3.5 billion and 124,000 pounds of marijuana worth US$112 million during the 2012 fiscal year, Somma added.
The interdiction was another success scored under Operation Martillo, a regional counter-narcotics mission that brings together Western Hemisphere and European countries to cut the flow of illicit drugs through Central America.
The operation is led by Joint Interagency Task Force South, based in Key West, Fla., but it relies heavily on working with law enforcement and military agencies in other countries.

[The Miami Herald (United States), 01/07/2013; CBS (United States), 01/07/2013]