16 Tons of Cocaine (more then $1 Billion) Seized at the Port of Philadelphia

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Federal authorities Tuesday seized more than 16 tons of cocaine from a cargo ship docked at the Port of Philadelphia – a massive haul they estimated was worth more than $1 billion and said was one of the largest cocaine busts in the nation’s history.

Two members of the ship’s crew, including its second mate, were charged with violations of federal maritime drug trafficking laws. According to court filings, both men confessed to helping haul dozens of bales of cocaine aboard from more than 14 different smaller boats that approached the vessel while in route from Peru.

But as of Tuesday evening, the investigation appeared to be far from over. Investigators from at least six different state and federal agencies continued to scour the ship, while authorities said others could be charged in the coming days.

“This is one of the largest seizures in United States history,” U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain said in a tweet. “This amount of cocaine could kill millions — MILLIONS — of people.”

Tuesday’s seizure breaks a record set just three months ago, when customs agents reported another unprecedented cocaine seizure — 1,815 pounds worth an estimated $38 million and the largest in the Philadelphia port’s history — on a cargo ship carrying natural rubber from Guatemala, bound for the Netherlands. No arrests were made in that case.

The Philadelphia busts come amid a series of large cocaine seizures across the Northeast. New York saw its largest cocaine bust in a quarter century in in March with $77 million worth of the drug seized from a cargo ship in the port of New York and New Jersey.

 In fiscal year 2018, customs agents seized an average of 4,657 pounds of narcotics per day, the agency reported on its website.

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