Coast Guard offloads 12,400 lb of marijuana at Port Everglades
The crew of Coast Guard Cutter James offloaded 12,400 pounds of marijuana alongside 33,200 pounds of cocaine at Port Everglades, Florida, on 26 October 2023, after 13 interdictions in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. The Coast Guard valued the combined haul at about $448 million; no arrests were reported.
The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter James offloaded more than 33,200 pounds
of cocaine and 12,400 pounds of marijuana at Port Everglades, Florida, on
Thursday 26 October 2023.[1]The marijuana amounted to about 5,625 kilograms,
and the Coast Guard valued the cocaine and marijuana together at approximately
$448 million.[1]
The drugs came from 13 separate interdiction cases in international waters of
the Eastern Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.[1]Several Coast Guard ships
took part, supported by U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Air and Marine
Operations and the Joint Interagency Task Force South.[1]CBS12 reported that
the seizures were made by a group of Coast Guard and Navy crews including the
cutters Thetis, Vigilant and Valiant, two Coast Guard tactical law enforcement
teams, the destroyer USS Farragut and a Helicopter Interdiction Tactical
Squadron.[2]
Vice Adm. Kevin Lunday, commander of the U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area, called
the offload a matter of national security and part of an interagency and
international effort against maritime drug smuggling into the United States.[1]gCaptain reported that the Coast Guard’s 11th District in California and
7th District in Miami led the law enforcement operations in the Eastern Pacific
and Caribbean, with the Joint Interagency Task Force South in Key West detecting
and monitoring drug transit.[3]
Photos and video
The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter James with the more than $445 million in drugs seized in Port Everglades, Florida, on 26 October 2023. Photo: U.S. Coast GuardPhoto details
CBS12cbs12.comNearly $500 million in illegal narcotics offloaded at Port Everglades
gCaptaingcaptain.comU.S. Coast Guard Offloads $450 Million Worth of Drugs in Florida
Open questions the AI reported
No arrests, charges or court outcomes were reported; the articles name no suspects or detained crew members.
The $448 million valuation covers the cocaine and marijuana together and cannot be separated into a marijuana-only value, so it is kept in the text and omitted from a cannabis-only figure.
The cocaine quantity is mentioned only as context and is excluded from cannabis figures.
The 13 cases took place at unspecified dates before the offload; 26 October 2023 is the offload date, not the date of the individual seizures.
The St. Lucia Times page image is not captioned or credited in the capture, so only the Coast Guard photo captioned and credited on gCaptain is linked.
Only English-language sources were found; no Coast Guard press release could be opened directly.
A 70-year-old man was arrested and booked into jail after Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board officers and Snohomish County deputies searched a property near Monroe on 6 November 2026. Investigators seized approximately 2,700 live and dried marijuana plants from what they described as an unlicensed cannabis production operation.
HSI in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, said two go-fast vessels carrying about 3,200 kilograms of marijuana and 3,188 kilograms of cocaine were intercepted under Operation Iron Current, a case against a Colombia-based trafficking organization. ICE put the street value of the haul at more than $80.5 million.
Indiana State Police seized nearly 1,000 grams of suspected marijuana alongside cocaine, fentanyl and guns in Operation Iron Scale raids on 3 November 2026 across Fort Wayne, Huntertown and Noblesville. Twelve people were arrested on felony conspiracy and narcotics-dealing charges, with no separate marijuana charges reported.
Waynesville police seized more than $56,000 worth of THC products said to have been sold or given to middle and high school children, arresting one person. Police said many items contained marijuana or THC extracts in youth-friendly packaging and warned parents about their appearance.
