U.S. Coast Guard unloads two-ton cocaine seizure near South Florida Coast

A Coast Guard cutter crew stopped over in Key West Wednesday with a special delivery: 4,355 pounds of cocaine the crew seized off a go-fast boat while on patrol in the Caribbean.

The Coast Guard was working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to patrol the region in search of suspect drug traffickers when they spotted the go-fast vessel on Sept. 9, authorities said.

When a Coast Guard helicopter flew over the vessel for a closer look, the suspects on the boat began throwing bales overboard and then tried to speed away in the boat, authorities said.

They managed to stop the boat a short time later and discovered the more than two tons of cocaine the vessel had been carrying, Coast Guard officials said. They estimated the drugs to be worth $58 million if sold on the street.

Five people on the boat were detained and taken to Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.