Charleston Federal Case Targets $517M Coastal Drug Seizure

CHARLESTON, S.C. — U.S. authorities offloaded 45,600 pounds of illicit narcotics valued at over $517 million at Port Everglades on March 20, 2025, with prosecution anchored in the District of South Carolina due to ties to a Charleston-centered international drug investigation. The multi-agency effort, spanning 14 interdictions in the Eastern Pacific, involved Coast Guard Cutters Stone and Mohawk, plus Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron aircrews. A pivotal bust occurred 270 miles southeast of the Galapagos Islands, where airborne tactics stopped a go-fast vessel carrying 3,980 pounds of cocaine and led to the arrest of Ecuadorian nationals Carlos Armando Cedeno, 29, and Jorge Augusto Mero Figueroa, 60.[1] Cedeno and Figueroa face charges of possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine aboard a vessel subject to U.S. jurisdiction, plus jettisoning property subject to forfeiture, carrying a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Lietzow is leading the prosecution in Charleston federal court. The seizures connect to cartels like Sinaloa and Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, designated foreign terrorist organizations, with evidence from operations including Cutter Stone's February 19, 2025, interdiction of four vessels in 15 minutes, netting nearly 11,000 pounds of cocaine.[1] This high-seas crackdown echoes South Carolina's long history as a smuggling hub, from Operation Jackpot in the 1980s that dismantled rings offloading marijuana through Lowcountry inlets to recent Lowcountry busts raising fentanyl alarms. In North Charleston, police arrested Charleston resident Erick Jhonta Boyd, 31, on fentanyl trafficking charges near 2599 La Quinta Lane, a known narcotics hotspot. Meanwhile, an 18-defendant North Charleston ring drew 144 years in federal prison, signaling relentless pressure on coastal trafficking.[2][3][4][5]