US Coast Guard seizes $23 million worth of cocaine

MIAMI BEACH, Florida (AP) — The US Coast Guard is reporting an operation in the Caribbean that netted more than $23 million worth of cocaine.

Roughly 719 kilograms of cocaine will be unloaded Thursday at the Coast Guard station in Miami Beach.

The drugs were confiscated during a September 8 interdiction. Officials say a Coast Guard crew was on routine patrol when they spotted a suspicious 208-foot cargo vessel in international waters northeast of Panama.

According to the Coast Guard, the crew found multiple packages of contraband throughout the ship. Thirteen people aboard the ship were taken into custody.

Commander Timothy Cronin says drug smuggling organizations are continuously trying to change their tactics to avoid interdiction.

Earlier this month, the Coast Guard seized about $93 million worth of cocaine during separate operations in the western Caribbean.