See What $19 Million in Cocaine Looks Like

The spoils of a victory in the ongoing war on drugs made their way into St. Petersburg Friday when the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Hawk’s crew offloaded 576 kilograms of cocaine seized off the Dominican Republic as part of Operation Martillo.

The operation was a “multi-national collaborative effort among 14 Western Hemisphere and European nations to stop the flow of illicit cargo by Transnational Criminal Organizations,” the U.S. Coast Guard News’ YouTube page says. The drugs have an estimated wholesale value of about $19 million.

The actual seizure took place Aug. 7 when a coast guard sentry aircraft spotted a “go-fast vessel” south of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The U.S. Coast Guard and the British Royal Navy’s warship HMS Argyll pursued the boat, boarded it and discovered the contraband, Channel 10 reported.

A total of 18 bales of cocaine were seized while five smugglers were also taken into custody. Those accused smugglers were brought back to St. Petersburg to be turned over to federal officials, the station said.

While the haul was a big one, it’s not even close to being the biggest this year. Back in April, the coast guard offloaded $110 million in cocaine in Miami Beach following two separate operations.

Photo Credit: YouTube