Cocaine haul from ship grows, arrests now stand at 6

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Federal authorities have upped the amount of cocaine they say they’ve seized from a ship at the Philadelphia port to more than 35,000 pounds, or 15,876 kilograms.

They said Friday it’s the largest cocaine haul in the history of U.S. Customs. They put the street value of the drugs at $1.1 billion.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection says the investigation has now resulted in a total of six arrests. The arrests of two crew members were announced Tuesday.

Agents are still inspecting containers aboard the MSC Gayane, which was flying under a Liberian flag.

Authorities first boarded the ship Sunday night and began a full investigation Monday.

Under heavy security, federal agents lined the foyer of Philadelphia’s Custom House with thousands of pounds of seized cocaine ahead of a briefing on the ongoing investigation.