Pictures released by the Coast Guard show the recent large seizure of cocaine made during the interception of a boat about 500 miles off Cape Cod.
More than half a ton of cocaine was found on board the ship that was stopped in international waters on Friday, according to the Coast Guard.
Authorities noticed that the ship, called the Elegance, was riding “suspiciously low” and decided to investigate. The ship claimed to be Canadian, and after contacting Canadian authorities members of the Coast Guard cutter Dependable boarded the ship on Friday.
While onboard the crew found 621 kg of cocaine packaged in 23 large, heavy plastic mesh bags. Authorities said the street value of the drugs was more than $20 million.
The crew detained two men onboard and towed the Elegance to Coast Guard Sector Boston, where federal agents arrestedHicham Ramzi Nahra, 27, of Canada, and Benjamin Celma-Sedo, 49, of Spain. The men face federal drug charges.
The Coast Guard released pictures of the crew examining and offloading the cocaine in Boston.
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