[NYPOST] Federal authorities discovered 16.5 tons of cocaine on a ship in a Philadelphia port and arrested members of the crew in one of the largest drug busts in the area’s history, authorities said Tuesday.The large haul of coke ‐ with a street value of approximately $1 billion ‐ was seized from a large ship at the Packer Marine Terminal in Philadelphia, said the US Attorney’s office.
"This is the largest drug seizure in the history of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania," the US Attorney’s office tweeted.
Those on the ship were arrested and federally charged, authorities said. The investigation is ongoing.
Earlier this year, $77 million in cocaine was seized in Newark when Sherlocks cracked open a shipping container.
Inspectors from Customs and Border Protection and the Drug Enforcement Administration at the Port of New York/Newark searched the container on Feb. 28 after noticing that its lock appeared to have been tampered with, law enforcement sources said.
When they opened the container, they found 60 burlap sacks packed to the brim with wrapped bricks of cocaine nestled among several containers of dried fruit, the sources said.