Coast Guard seizes $12 million worth of cocaine, marijuana

MIAMI (AP) – U.S. Coast Guard officials say nearly $12 million worth of cocaine and marijuana in South Florida has been seized in the Caribbean Sea.

The Coast Guard says the drugs arrived Friday at Base Miami Beach.

Officials say a Coast Guard cutter intercepted a Panamanian flagged sailing vessel southeast of Nicaragua on Sept. 3 and found 254 kilograms of cocaine in a hidden compartment worth an estimated wholesale value of $8.5 million.

That same day, officials say another cutter responded to three people clinging to a capsized vessel when 68 bales of marijuana was spotted in the water. More than 3,600 pounds of marijuana valued at $3.3 million was recovered.

In the past year, the Coast Guard reports it has seized nearly 130 metric tons of cocaine, the most since 2008.