A US Coast Guard cutter has returned to California carrying more than 14 tonnes of seized cocaine.
The drug haul is valued at more than $424m (£281m).
The drugs were seized by US and Canadian forces in 19
separate incidents in the eastern Pacific Ocean near Central and South
America in the last two and half months.
The operation included a 10 and a half-tonne bust from a coastal
freighter, the largest maritime drug interdiction in that area since
2009.
The cutter arrived at Naval Base San Diego.
Authorities are reporting a surge of seizures near Central and South America.
Coast Guard Vice Admiral Charles Michel said that over the
past six months, authorities have seized in total 28 tonnes of cocaine -
valued at roughly $848m (£563m) - and arrested 101 people.
Suspicious vessels in international waters were tracked by military or law enforcement aircraft or vessels.
Coast Guard personnel operating from Coast Guard cutters and Royal Canadian Navy vessels boarded the ships to seize the drugs.
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