The Coast Guard Cutter Boutwell arrived at Naval Base San Diego on Monday morning with a very unique cargo — 28,000 pounds of cocaine seized in 18 different busts. The wholesale value of the haul? An estimated $423 million:
The drugs were seized and 55 suspects were apprehended during 18 separate interdictions by U.S. Coast Guard and Navy forces off the coast of Central and South America as part of Operation Martillo.
The crew of Cutter Boutwell made six of those busts during a 90-day deployment. After unloading the cocaine, the crew turned it over to Drug Enforcement Agency agents.
The Coast Guard says the combined drug busts were a "significant blow" (pun intended?) to illegal drug trafficking:
Increased threats in the Western Hemisphere from transnational organized crime demonstrate the importance of disrupting illegal smuggling networks.
San Diego television station NBC 7 was at Naval Base San Diego when the Boutwell arrived Monday morning, and put together this report:
