Four Arrested After $105 Million Cocaine Bust At Sea
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Federal agents made a big bust and apprehended four alleged drug smugglers during an at-sea interdiction off the coast of the Dominican Republic.
On April 7th, 37 bales of cocaine, weighing 993 kg or a little more than 2,100 lbs, were seized about 95 nautical miles south of Santo Domingo, officials said.
The contraband has an estimated street value of more than $105 million.
The four suspects are allegedly members of a drug trafficking organization responsible for importing cocaine into the United States from Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.
"We focus our investigative and enforcement efforts to interdict these narcotic smuggling ventures long before they reach our shores," said Robert C. Hutchinson, acting special agent in charge of HSI Miami. "We work very closely with our many law enforcement partners to achieve results, like last week's seizure and arrests."
The South Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, credited with the bust, consists of several agencies working together including the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations Miami office, as well as the Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection, and the Florida Highway Patrol.