$47 million worth of cocaine and marijuana offloaded in Miami Beach

Over a 10-day span, the U.S. Guard said it stopped three different boats — all of which were carrying drugs.

On Tuesday, the Coast Guard offloaded 3,516 pounds of seized cocaine and 50 pounds of seized marijuana from the Cutter Bernard C. Webber in Miami Beach.

The value of the drugs, according to the Coast Guard: $47 million. The three suspected smuggling vessels were stopped off the coasts of the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Aruba by different U.S. Coast Guard Cutters.

The first one was stopped on Sept. 30. That vessel had 50 pounds of marijuana, the Coast Guard said.

The second vessel, which was stopped Oct. 4, had 816 pounds of cocaine.

The last one, stopped on Oct. 10, had 2,700 pounds of cocaine.

“Without the hard work from US and international agencies, these illicit drugs would negatively impact the prosperity and security of the Caribbean Region,” said Lt. Commander Jeremy Montes, who oversees District 7, in a news release.

As a part of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Western Hemisphere Strategy — a 10-year plan to crack down on the drug transit zones in the Caribbean Basin and Eastern Pacific Ocean — the Coast Guard has stepped up its enforcement.

Last month, the Coast Guard offloaded $170 million in seized drugs at Port Everglades.

Bales of cocaine lie at Coast Guard Base Miami Beach, Oct. 16, 2018. The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Bernard C. Webber offloaded approximately 3,516 pounds of cocaine and 50 pounds of marijuana worth an estimated wholesale value of over $47 million.The Coast Guard seized the drugs in international waters off the Caribbean Basin from late September to early October.

Seaman Erik Villa Rodriguez/U.S. Coast Guard