The U.S. Attorney’s office reports the seizure of 16.5 tons (about 36,375 pounds) of cocaine on a vessel at a Marine Terminal in Philadelphia, PA.

At a street value of approximately $ 1 billion (not a typo!) this is the largest drug seizure ever in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and one of the largest in U.S. history.

Authorities arrested several crew members on board of the vessel that had called ports in Colombia, Chile, Panama and the Bahamas before arriving in Philadelphia.

Congratulations to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Customs and Border Protection Office Mid-Atlantic, The Philadelphia Police Department and the U.S. Coast Guard that cooperated in this major operation.