Record cocaine bust in Philadelphia nets $18 million worth of product

The drugs were on a ship traveling from Colombia to Europe.

March 20, 2019, 4:18 AM

Authorities seized at least 450 kilograms of cocaine at the Port of Philadelphia on Tuesday morning, according to a source familiar with the massive drug bust.

Bricks of the white powdery substance were stuffed in duffel bags found in a shipping container aboard the MSC Desiree, which was traveling from Colombia to Europe, the source told ABC News.

Authorities in Philadelphia announced the largest-ever cocaine bust in the port's history on Tuesday, March 19, 2019.
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Federal and local authorities inspected the container after noticing the bolts on the door had been tampered with, the source said.

The total amount of cocaine, approximately 992 pounds, has a street value of about $18 million, and is the most ever seized in Philadelphia, according to the source.

Authorities in Philadelphia announced the largest-ever cocaine bust in the port's history on Tuesday, March 19, 2019.
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Last week, authorities confiscated 3,200 pounds of cocaine, with a street value of $77 million, that had been hidden behind boxes of dried fruit aboard a cargo ship at the Port of New York and New Jersey. It was the largest coke bust at the port in a quarter century.

Federal agents have been paying closer attention to tampered shipping containers as cocaine makes a comeback amid rising crop production in Colombia, which is no longer eradicating coca plants, the source told ABC News.