More than $10 million in cocaine was confiscated Wednesday in waters off St. Thomas's Buck Island by federal law enforcement authorities and the U.S. Coast Guard.
The approximately 1,500 pounds of cocaine was packed in 25 bales, according to a joint statement issued Thursday night by the Coast Guard, Customs, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Attorney's Office. No arrests have been made in connection with the drugs.
The seizure was made after the U.S. Customs Service received information Tuesday from a St. Thomas resident that suspicious activity was taking place on the western end of Buck Island, about three miles south of St. Thomas.
A search team was deployed to follow up on the tip. On Wednesday, a second search was conducted by federal drug officials and the Coast Guard cutter Ocracoke. It was then the illegal drugs were recovered from the waters off Buck Island.
The Customs Service will continue to investigate to determine how the cocaine got in the water, where it came from and where it was destined. No other information was available late Thursday on the cocaine haul.
This week's seizure is the most significant haul since more than 4,000 pounds of cocaine was found hidden on board the cargo ship Adriatik in 1999.
