HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — The crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stone offloaded around 45,600 pounds of illegal drugs worth more than $517.5 million Thursday at Port Everglades.

The seizure was the result of 14 interceptions within the Eastern Pacific Ocean, leading to the arrest of 35 suspected smugglers, the agency said in a news release.

Cutter Stone’s commanding officer, Capt. Jonathan Carter commended his crew’s work on the seizure.

“In one exceptional case, the crew interdicted four go-fast vessels in 15 minutes, seizing nearly 11,000 pounds of cocaine that will never be mixed with deadly fentanyl to threaten American lives here at home,” Carter stated.

In that case, on Feb. 19, the Cutter Stone detected the four vessels 110 miles south of the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador. The crew sent a helicopter to stop the smugglers before boarding teams intercepted and arrested eight suspected smugglers while seizing around 10,885 pounds of cocaine.

The Cutter Stone wasn’t the only Coast Guard crew that helped with the seizure. U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mohawk pitched in to help with the operation.

“The fight against drug trafficking and transnational criminal organizations doesn’t begin at our U.S. maritime borders,” Cmdr. David Ratner, commanding officer of Mohawk, said. “Our efforts to defend Americans at home begins with denying drug traffickers access to maritime routes and disrupting the flow far out at sea where we operate alongside interagency and strategic regional partners like Costa Rica.”