U.S. Coast Guard Seizes 6,085 Pounds of Cocaine, Fires on 1 of 3 Boats
Updated
Updated · CBS New York · May 15
U.S. Coast Guard Seizes 6,085 Pounds of Cocaine, Fires on 1 of 3 Boats
10 articles · Updated · CBS New York · May 15
Three boats intercepted about 90 miles off Cartagena, Colombia, yielded 6,085 pounds of cocaine worth roughly $45 million in a coordinated Coast Guard operation.
The cutter Tahoma launched two small boats and a helicopter at once; when one vessel refused orders, the aircrew used precision sniper fire on its engines to stop it.
Smugglers from the helicopter-pursued boat jumped overboard and were rescued without reported injuries, while the other two vessels stopped when approached by Coast Guard crews.
The cocaine will be offloaded at Port Everglades in Florida, and the three seized boats were later sunk after drugs and detainees were removed.
The seizure fits a broader maritime crackdown: the Coast Guard says about 80% of narcotics bound for the U.S. are caught at sea and it seized more than 511,000 pounds of cocaine in 2025.
Are massive multi-million dollar drug busts a true measure of success or a symptom of a larger, unsolvable problem?
With smugglers using autonomous narco-subs, how can authorities win this escalating technological arms race at sea?