2019 Philadelphia Packer Marine Terminal cocaine seizure
{{Short description|Cocaine seizure}}
File:MSC GAYANÉ (48362954402).jpg On June 18, 2019, United States federal authorities seized 39,525 pounds (nearly twenty tons) of cocaine{{Cite web|url=https://6abc.com/5356939/|title=Authorities unveil stacks of seized cocaine after Philadelphia port bust|date=2019-06-21|website=6abc Philadelphia|language=en|access-date=2019-06-21}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/26/us/philadelphia-cocaine-bust-weight-tally/index.html|title=Record cocaine seizure at Philadelphia terminal weighed nearly 20 tons -- or 39,525 pounds|first=Hollie |last=Silverman|website=CNN|date=27 June 2019 |access-date=2019-06-30}} with a street value estimated at $1.3 billion (equivalent to more than $1.6 billion in 2025){{Cite web|url=http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/New-Details-1-Billion-Cocaine-Bust-Philadelphia-Port-511624912.html|title=$1 Billion Philly Coke Bust Largest in U.S. Customs History|last=Staff|first=NBC10|website=NBC 10 Philadelphia|language=en|access-date=2019-06-21}} at the Port of Philadelphia's Packer Marine Terminal. This was the largest cocaine seizure in U.S. Customs and Border Protection's 230-year history, the largest cocaine seizure in U.S. history,{{Cite web|url=https://news.yahoo.com/cocaine-haul-ship-grows-arrests-151850842.html|title=Cocaine haul from ship grows, arrests now stand at 6|website=news.yahoo.com|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-21}} and the fourth largest worldwide.{{Cite web|url=https://moneyinc.com/the-20-largest-drugs-seizures-in-world-history/|title=The 20 Largest Drugs Seizures in World History|last=Berman|first=Nat|date=2018-03-19|website=Money Inc|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-19}}
Background
The MSC Gayané (IMO number 9770763), operated by Mediterranean Shipping Company and owned by JPMorgan Chase,{{Cite web |last=Brito |first=Christopher |last2=Silverstein |first2=Jason |date=2019-07-11 |title=JP Morgan Chase owns ship seized in $1.3 billion cocaine bust - CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ship-seized-in-1-3-billion-cocaine-bust-is-owned-by-jp-morgan-chase/ |access-date=2024-06-12 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}} was heading from Chile to Europe with previous stops in Peru, Colombia and the Bahamas. She was met by law enforcement vessels and boarded by about a dozen federal agents while heading into Delaware Bay, then escorted into the Port of Philadelphia's Packer Marine Terminal. Once docked, authorities found nearly 20 tons of cocaine; eight members of her crew were charged.{{Cite web|url=https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2019/06/18/15000-kilos-of-cocaine-confiscated-during-drug-bust-at-philadelphia-port-federal-sources-say/|title=Over $1 Billion Worth Of Cocaine Seized At Philadelphia Port, U.S. Attorney's Office Says|date=2019-06-18|language=en|access-date=2019-06-18}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Massive-Drug-Cache-Seized-at-Philadelphia-Shipping-Yard-Sources-Say-511455802.html|title=$1 Billion in Cocaine Seized at Philly Port, Officials Say|last1=Staff|first1=NBC10|last2=York|first2=Jonathan Dienst of NBC4 in New|website=NBC 10 Philadelphia|language=en|access-date=2019-06-18}}{{Cite web|url=https://6abc.com/5351897/|title=16.5 tons of cocaine worth $1 billion seized at Philadelphia port|date=2019-06-18|website=6abc Philadelphia|language=en|access-date=2019-06-18}} The U.S. Attorney General seized the Gayané until MSC posted a $50 million bond to release her.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/inside-shippings-record-cocaine-bust-11563960604|title=Inside Shipping's Record Cocaine Bust|last=Paris|first=Costas|website=WSJ|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-08}}
By August 2021, all eight crew members charged with crimes had been sentenced.{{Cite web |last=Roebuck |first=Jeremy |title=The final cargo ship crewman charged in a 20-ton Philly cocaine bust was sentenced to more than 7 years |url=https://www.inquirer.com/news/msc-gayane-aleksandar-kavaja-cocaine-philadelphia-montenegro-20210831.html |access-date=2022-12-07 |website=www.inquirer.com |language=en}} On October 31, 2022, former professional heavyweight boxer Goran Gogic was charged with three counts of violating the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act and one count of conspiracy thereof in relation to the MSC Gayané bust.{{Cite web |date=2022-10-31 |title=Montenegrin National Charged in Brooklyn Federal Court with Maritime Narcotrafficking of Over 20 Tons of Cocaine |url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/montenegrin-national-charged-brooklyn-federal-court-maritime-narcotrafficking-over-20 |access-date=2022-12-07 |website=www.justice.gov |language=en}}