US Coast Guard Off Loads 10,000 Pounds Of Cocaine from Venezuela

The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Tahoma turned over nearly 10,000 pounds of cocaine to federal agents in Miami on Monday morning, following an at sea interdiction. The crew of the 270-foot cutter Tahoma was conducting law enforcement patrols in the Caribbean Sea on June 26th when they noticed something suspicious onboard the 120-foot Honduran flagged vessel, Miss Dayanna, about 76 miles south of Pedro Bank, Jamaica. The Coast Guard crew boarded the vessel and discovered nearly 10,000 pounds of cocaine on the vessel. It was in a hidden compartment in the fuel tank. The four and a half tons of cocaine is considered a very large seizure and has a street value estimated at $159 million. Seven Hondurans onboard the boat were detained and later transferred to U.S. Drug Enforcement agents and the Miss Dayanna was transferred to the government of Honduras. The boat's last port of call prior to the seizure was Venezuela but it's not known if that's where the drugs were loaded onto the ship. The DEA will now take possession of the drugs and destroy it.