USA: U.S. Authorities Seized 33,000 Pounds, or 15,000 Kilograms, Of Cocaine From A Ship At Philadelphia’s Port In What They Described As One Of The Largest Drug Busts In American History.

BREAKING: Officials say they've seized over 16 tons of cocaine worth more than $1 billion at a Philadelphia port in one of the largest drug busts in US history. https://t.co/JzlnmSiw6H

— The Associated Press (@AP) June 18, 2019

The Associated Press

33K pounds of cocaine seized in one of biggest US drug busts

written by Michael Rubinkam and Matt Rourke

Tuesday June 18, 2019

PHILADELPHIA — U.S. authorities seized 33,000 pounds, or 15,000 kilograms, of cocaine from a ship at Philadelphia’s port in what they described as one of the largest drug busts in American history.

They said the haul could have been worth more than $1 billion on the street.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Philadelphia announced the massive bust on Twitter on Tuesday afternoon, saying that law enforcement agents found the cocaine on a ship at the Packer Marine Terminal. Two members of the crew were arrested and face federal charges.

Agents with dogs swarmed the colossal ship Tuesday afternoon, including one officer who could be seen climbing into the back of a large red container on wheels. Court documents said the bust began Monday.

An affidavit alleged that crew members helped load the cocaine onto the MSC Gayane while it was at sea off the west coast of South America. Citing an interview with one of the crew members, authorities said a total of 14 boats approached the vessel on two separate occasions during its voyage. Several crew members allegedly helped transfer bales of cocaine.

The ship’s second mate, Ivan Durasevic, and another crew member, Fonofaavae Tiasage, were charged with conspiracy to possess cocaine aboard a ship. An online court docket did not list attorneys for the defendants. It wasn’t clear whether other crew members would face charges.

The drug seizure is the latest in a series of large cocaine busts along the East Coast. In a March bust in Philadelphia, drug dogs sniffed out 1,185 pounds (538 kilograms) of cocaine worth about $38 million — at that time the city’s largest seizure of the drug in more than two decades.

In February, customs agents seized 3,200 pounds (1,451 kilograms) at the Port of New York and New Jersey with a street value estimated at $77 million. That was the largest cocaine bust at the ports since 1994.

Online ship trackers said the vessel detained in Philadelphia sails under the flag of Liberia and arrived in Philadelphia after 5 a.m. Monday. The ship’s previous ports of call were the Bahamas on June 13, Panama on June 9, Peru on May 24 and Colombia on May 19, records show.

Federal authorities say Colombia is the primary supplier of cocaine to the U.S.

The MSC Gayane’s owner, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co., said in a statement it was “aware of reports of an incident at the Port of Philadelphia in which U.S. authorities made a seizure of illicit cargo.” The privately owned Swiss shipping company said it “takes this matter very seriously and is grateful to the authorities for identifying any suspected abuse of its services.”

Patrick Trainor, a spokesman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in Philadelphia, said that based on current prices in the area, the street value of the haul is around $525 million to well over $1 billion.

Tuesday’s seizure did not set a U.S. record. A 1989 bust in downtown Los Angeles netted almost 43,000 pounds (19,504 kilograms) of the drug.

WPVI6 ABC affiliate, Philadelphia local

Over 16.5 tons of cocaine worth $1 billion seized at Philadelphia port

written by Maggie Kent and Dann Cuellar

Tuesday June 18, 2019

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania - Federal authorities have seized more than 16.5 tons of cocaine, with a street value of over $1 billion, at the Packer Marine Terminal in Philadelphia.

An official said the ship was headed from Chile to Europe when the drugs were found in Philadelphia after authorities received a tip Monday night. The cocaine was discovered inside eight containers from a cargo ship, sources tell Action News.

According to a senior DEA official in Washington, the latest count of the seizure is at 34,341 pounds which is just over 17 tons.

The ship's course started in Chile then stopped in Peru and the Bahamas before making its way to Philadelphia. The US Attorney's Office Eastern District of Pennsylvania says the ship was then headed to Europe with a stop in Rotterdam.

The intended destination for the cocaine shipment is unclear.

U.S. Attorney William McSwain tweeted this statement: "This is one of the largest drug seizures in United States history. 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."

Members of the ship's crew have been arrested and federally charged.

An affidavit of probable cause obtained by Action News shows that two of the ship's crew members have admitted taking part in loading the cocaine from 14 separate boats while en route at sea.

The illicit drugs are currently being processed.

Authorities say this is the largest drug seizure in the history of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Investigators are expected to hold a news conference in the coming days.

The historic bust -- the largest in the history of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania -- comes amid a series of large seizures of the drug in the Northeast, including a seizure back in May of roughly 450 kilos of cocaine at the Port of Philadelphia.

Another bust at the Port of Philadelphia in March netted a total of 450 bricks of cocaine, weighing 1,185 pounds with a street value of $38 million. At the time, law enforcement officials said it was their biggest cocaine bust at the Port of Philadelphia in 21 years.

New York saw its largest cocaine bust in a quarter century in March as well with $77 million worth of the drug seized from a cargo ship in the port of New York and New Jersey.

Traffickers have been seeking out a new market for cocaine by mixing it with the powerful drug fentanyl, which is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. Synthetic opioids, like fentanyl have been responsible for thousands of overdose deaths a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Cocaine, New York's nemesis of the 90s, is back-indicating traffickers push to build an emerging customer base of users mixing cocaine with fentanyl," DEA Special Agent in Charge Ray Donovan said at the time of the New York seizure. "This record-breaking seizure draws attention to this new threat and shows law enforcement's collaborative efforts in seizing illicit drugs before it gets to the streets and into users' hands."

In July of 2018, routine examinations at the Port of Philadelphia led to a big fentanyl bust. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized 110 pounds of the deadly opioid, with a street value estimated at $1.7 million.