The United States Coast Guard, along with partner agencies, responded on Tuesday to a report from a concerned citizen of what they believed to be multiple bales of narcotics floating in the water near Santa Catalina Island off the coast of California.
A Baywatch Isthmus boat crew and a Coast Guard Station Los Angeles-Long Beach 45-foot Response Boat-Medium were dispatched to the location of the bales to investigate.
Crews from the Coast Guard and Baywatch retrieved a total of 43 bales from the water before transferring them to Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
CBP confirmed the contents of the bales to be cannabis, which weighed approximately 1,300 pounds and was valued at an estimated $1 million.
“We appreciate the assistance provided by our partners and vigilant mariners in keeping these drugs off of our streets,” said Station Los Angeles-Long Beach commanding officer Lt. Andrew Fox. “We encourage anyone who sees suspicious activity on the water, signs of distress, or hazards to navigation to contact Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles Long Beach personnel on VHF channel 610 or at (310) 521-3801.”
Authorities are currently unaware of the origin of the bales of cannabis though the case is being investigated by Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations and the Coast Guard Investigative Service.
