Federal authorities seized 15,000 kilos of cocaine, worth as much as $750 million, at a Philadelphia shipping port, officials said on Tuesday.
The 33,000 pounds or 16.5 tons of the drug was found in seven shipping containers late Monday night, officials said.
Federal prosecutors in Philadelphia said is the largest drug seizure ever in their area. The human toll this amount of drugs could have taken is staggering, according to U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania William McSwain.
“This is one of the largest drug seizures in United States history,” McSwain tweeted. “This amount of cocaine could kill millions — MILLIONS — of people. My Office is committed to keeping our borders secure and streets safe from deadly narcotics.”
The illicit cargo was found aboard a cargo ship, the MSC Gayane, which had previously traveled from Chile, Panama and the Bahamas, according to NBC Philadelphia.
A senior law enforcement official told NBC News that authorities believe the ship was loaded with drugs in the Bahamas. The vessel also made previous stops on South America before coming to Philadelphia.
“Homeland Security Investigations and Customs and Border Protection are leading a multi-agency inspection of shipping containers aboard a merchant ship at the Port of Philadelphia,” Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement. “We will release additional details when it is appropriate to do so.”
Deaths linked to cocaine abuse have been on the rise, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The troubling trend began around 2012, before cocaine-related deaths jumped 34 percent from 2016 to 2017, the CDC said.
David K. Li contributed.
