MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) - The Coast Guard has offloaded more than eight tons of cocaine in Miami Beach with an estimated value of more than $214 million.
The drugs were collected in the eastern Pacific Ocean off the coast of Central and South America over the last two months, according to the Coast Guard.
The cocaine was brought Monday to the Coast Guard's base on Miami Beach aboard the Cutter Bernard C. Webber.
Coast Guard officials say that the haul represents the interdiction of 11 suspected smuggling vessels and one bale recovery operation.
Authorities say eight out of 10 countries in Central and South America as well as the Caribbean have record high homicide rates due to drug-related organized crime.