Coast Guard crews offloaded more than one ton of marijuana in St. Petersburg on Tuesday after it was previously seized from vessels in the Caribbean Sea, according to a news release.
Crew members of the Coast Guard Cutter Resolute along with members of a Customs and Border Protection aircraft interdicted two suspected drug smuggling vessels on March 17. They seized a combined 2,600 pounds of marijuana and detained seven people.
The drugs were worth an estimated $2.2 million wholesale value, according to the Coast Guard.
The 81-person crew aboard the Resolute recently returned from a 71-day deployment that included participation in Operation Riptide, focusing on counter-drug operations in the Caribbean.