HSI, Mexican Navy seize $120 million of cocaine, arrest 19 suspected drug traffickers during 3 maritime interdiction operations in July

HOUSTON - Homeland Security Investigations Houston, HSI Mexico City, and Mexico's Secretaría de Marina conducted three maritime interdiction operations off the coast of Chiapas, Mexico, in July that led to the arrest of 19 suspected drug traffickers and the seizure of 6,080 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated street value of more than $120 million.

The operations were conducted under a Homeland Security Task Force initiative that targets foreign terrorist organizations and drug cartels involved in the smuggling of multi-ton shipments of illicit narcotics into the United States and other countries.

"In just the past month, by working alongside our international partners through this HSTF initiative, we've prevented more than 6 tons of deadly narcotics from being smuggled into the U.S. or Mexico and deprived the drug cartels of bringing in more than $120 million in criminal proceeds," said HSI Houston Special Agent in Charge Lucia Cabral-DeArmas. "That success is a direct result of our shared commitment to safeguard communities in both countries from being flooded with these deadly substances. HSI will continue to work closely with our domestic and international partners to identify and disrupt illicit smuggling routes and dismantle the drug trafficking organizations and other transnational criminal organizations involved in these sophisticated drug trafficking networks."

The three interdiction operations took place on July 16, July 25, and July 31 and resulted in the seizure of 2,840, 1,800 and 1,440 kilos of cocaine and the arrest of 10, three and six suspected drug traffickers, respectively.

To date, this HSTF initiative has resulted in 291 arrests and the seizure of approximately 118,350 kilograms of cocaine, $3 million in U.S. currency, 47 firearms, 51 vessels, 6 vehicles, several thousand gallons of fuel and a Cirrus SR-22 airplane.

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