Federal law enforcement officers assigned to the Port of New York and New Jersey in Newark, N.J., made the largest discovery of cocaine in nearly 25 years last month when they found $77 million worth of cocaine inside a shipment container that had just arrived from overseas.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Monday that approximately 3,200 pounds of cocaine was found in the large container on Feb. 28.
“This is a significant seizure, in fact it is the largest cocaine seizure at the Port of New York/Newark since May 1994,” Troy Miller, director for Customs and Border Protection’s New York Field Operations, said in a statement.
Officers on site initially found 60 packages of a white powdery substance inside the package. It later tested positive for cocaine.
“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,” Drug Enforcement Agency special agent in charge Ray Donovan said in a statement.
ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations team and CBP officers were the primary agencies involved in the massive bust. The DEA, Coast Guard, Joint Task Force East, New York Police Department, and New York State Police were also involved in the seizure.
A senior DEA official said the seizure indicates cocaine may be making a comeback, one that could be deadly.
The narcotics were turned over to HSI.
