Coast Guard Snags $37 Million in Cocaine Bound for Miami

The U.S. Coast Guard unveiled 45 bales - that's 2,500 pounds - of recovered cocaine Tuesday that was likely bound for Miami, reported WPEC-TV.

A Coast Guard fixed-wing plane spotted a suspicious 25-foot boat - what they call a "go-fast" vessel - traveling at a high rate of speed with four passengers aboard, Jan. 22. Spotted just off the Dominican Republic coast, Coast Guard response teams were sent to investigate, and when the boat did not respond to calls or warning shots from a helicopter, the fast boats moved in.

A Coast Guard fixed-wing aircraft spotted the suspiciously-speedy "go-fast" vessel, and called in the response teams to investigate. (Screen shot, WPEC).

Warning shots were fired at the boat from a Coast Guard helicopter, but the suspects continued on their heading, then began to dump the suspicious bales overboard. The Coast Guard got it all on tape.

"They began jettisoning their packages overboard - the Coast Guard helicopter then fired disabling fire into the engines to stop the vessel," Lieutenant Command Gabe Somma said during a quasi presentation ceremony on the docks. The Coast Guard unit stacked all 45 recovered bales on five palates and took pictures to celebrate their successful mission.

Coast Guard members stack bales of cocaine after their successful bust of the suspected drug smugglers. The total take weighed in at 2,500 pounds. (Screenshot, WPEC).

WPEC-TV reported the wholesale value of the cocaine is estimated at $37 million -- but the street value is three times that -- close to $111 million. The seizure is one of the largest in the Miami port's recent history.

See the full WPEC-TV report below.

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H/T: WPEC-TV.

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