Authorities make largest cocaine seizure at N.Y.-area port in 25 years

Authorities have seized the biggest shipment of cocaine recovered at the ports of New York and New Jersey in almost 25 years. The massive bust Feb. 28 at the Port of New York/Newark in Elizabeth came after authorities checked a shipping container entering the country. They found 60 packages containing 3,200 pounds of a white powdery substance that proved to be cocaine, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement Monday. The seizure, which has an estimated street value of $77 million, is the biggest cocaine bust at the ports since 1994 when about 6,600 pounds were seized, according to a CBP spokesman. The container was recovered from a ship that originated in South America, the spokesman said. Customs officers turned the drugs over to federal Homeland Security officials for investigation.