FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WFOR) — The U.S. Coast Guard offloaded more than 48,000 pounds of seized illegal drugs valued at over $509 million Wednesday morning at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale.
The drugs were seized in 13 interdictions in the eastern Pacific Ocean by the crews of the U.S. Coast Guard cutters James and Mohawk, federal authorities said.
On hand for the offload were U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and Vice Admiral Nathan Moore, commander of the U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area.
AG Pam Bondi says Mexican cartels were behind the shipments
"This is a textbook example of the Justice Department supporting the fight against violent crime. These drugs are worth over half a billion dollars. Almost 45,000 pounds of cocaine, pure cocaine, uncut, and 3,800 pounds of marijuana. Congratulations again to the Coast Guard, you have done admirable work," Bondi said.
The attorney general said the crews used drones, aircraft and ships to interdict the suspected traffickers off the coasts of Peru, Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands.
"What they did saved countless American lives, countless lives. This cocaine would have been distributed throughout our country, perhaps throughout the world," Bondi said.
Bondi said the Jalisco New Generation and Sinaloa drug-trafficking cartels were heavily tied to these shipments.
"This is a major blow to their financial operations and their efforts to distribute drugs throughout our country," she said. "It's an example of a prosecutor-led, intelligence driven approach to stopping these criminal enterprises in their tracks."
Trump administration targeting "foreign terrorist organizations"
Patel said the Trump administration has labeled the narco traffickers as foreign terrorist organizations.
"There is no lethal force on planet Earth that is responsible for an overdose death of an American citizen every seven minutes more so than these foreign terrorist organizations. We are humbled to be a part of this Department of Justice and we are going to continue to safeguard our streets," Patel said.
"We are going to lock them up. They are no longer going to be free to roam. We are going to dismantle the "next man up" theory that has been breeding in these Mexican cartels for generations. No more," Patel said.
Vice Admiral Moore said the crews of the Mohawk and James saved American lives.
"They seized $510 million in illegal drugs, that's cocaine and marijuana, that was interdicted at sea before it could reach the U.S. border. So what does that number actually mean? What does the number besides the dollar sign mean? It means 154 lives saved directly from cocaine-related overdose deaths in this country. It means that there's almost 11,000 less new cocaine users that are going to be getting access to the drugs. It means that we saved at least $16.5 million on costs related to inmate care and health care for people afflicted with these drugs," Moore said.
Coast Guard's third drug offload in South Florida in 2025
On March 20, the Coast Guard offloaded nearly 46,000 pounds of seized illegal drugs seized in 14 interdictions in the eastern Pacific Ocean by the crews of U.S. Coast Guard cutters Stone and Mohawk. Thirty-four suspected smugglers were taken into custody during the interdictions.
The drugs were worth more than $517.5 million.
On March 6, more than 12,000 pounds of cocaine valued at more then $141 million were brought to the Coast Guard Station in Miami Beach. The USCG said they confiscated the drugs in open waters over the last two months by using planes, thermal imaging and speed boats. More than a dozen suspected smugglers were detained in the six interdictions.
