Coast Guard offloads 11,500 pounds of seized cocaine worth $220 million in San Diego

SAN DIEGO (KABC) -- U.S. Coast Guard officials offloaded about 11,500 pounds of seized cocaine worth an estimated $220 million in San Diego on Wednesday.

The drugs were confiscated in international waters off the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America during the months of April and May.

The seizures were a result of four separate interdictions of suspected drug smuggling vessels conducted by three Coast Guard ships, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

A dozen people have been detained in connection with the interdictions and are awaiting federal charges, officials said.

"Interdictions in the Eastern Pacific are critical to targeting and prosecuting transnational criminals," said Acting U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman, who credited the efforts of the Coast Guard ships involved for preventing "the sale and future distribution of hundreds of thousands of

pounds of cocaine each year."

Ships involved in the seizures include:

City News Service contributed to this report.