Drug Smuggling Sea Turtle Found in the Pacific Ocean

Cocaine is on the comeback in the US, but no one expected to uncover a sea turtle carrying roughly £40 million worth of it...

Drug Smuggling Sea Turtle Found in the Pacific Ocean

by Tara Castiglioni |
Published on

A drug report from the DEA revealed that cultivation of cocaine has increased in Columbia and as a result, 'The United States can expect to see increased levels of cocaine supply and use, at least through 2018.' But is drug use affecting more than just human life?

It was reported that on Monday, around 300 miles south of the Mexican - Guatemalan border, a loggerhead sea turtle got tangled up in 75 feet worth of blue line. According to BBC World News, this rope linked the turtle to 26 individually packaged bales of cocaine weighing in at roughly 800kg.

Whilst investigating a debris field Mark Krebs and his team spotted the distressed animal with cords wrapped round his neck and body. The rescue effort was aided by the US armed forces who were deployed in the area on a 68-day counter drug patrol, called Operation Martillo, launched in 2012 to target drug trafficking courses along the Central American coast.

In an interview with NBC News, Commander Jose Diaz explained that the packages of cocaine were most likely thrown from a "go-fast vessel". "They probably felt the heat coming and got rid of it," he said.

The team managed to free the sea creature and seize a total of £39.5 million worth of cocaine. However, the amount of time the sea turtle was stuck in the bundle remains unknown and we are unaware of the affects that this traumatic ordeal could have on its wellbeing.

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Follow Tara on Twitter: @taracastiglioni

This article originally appeared on The Debrief.

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