There have been long existing conspiracies surrounding possible big business involvement with drug trafficking in the U.S., but is this the proof we needed? A cargo ship owned by banking giant JPMorgan Chase was seized by U.S. authorities who found 20 tons of cocaine on board!
Last month it was reported that US authorities in Philadelphia had seized a cargo vessel with nearly 20 tons of cocaine inside. However, one month later it’s been revealed that the cargo ship was actually owned by JPMorgan Chase. A source close to the situation confirmed last Wednesday that the MSC Gayane ship is part of a transportation strategy used for the bank’s asset management unit, CNN reports.
However, the source says the bank doesn’t have any operational control over the vessel that is run by a Swiss-based Mediterranean Shipping Company. Meanwhile, JPMorgan hasn’t responded to their connection to the drug smuggling ship that was seized on June 17 and contained about $1.3 billion worth of cocaine.
The US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced on Monday that a warrant was issued on July 4 that allowed the CBP to take custody of the ship.
“A seizure of a vessel this massive is complicated and unprecedented — but it is appropriate because the circumstances here are also unprecedented,” said US Attorney William McSwain in a statement Monday.”When a vessel brings such an outrageous amount of deadly drugs into Philadelphia waters, my Office and our agency partners will pursue the most severe consequences possible against all involved parties in order to protect our district — and our country,” McSwain added.
Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) released a statement on June 18 saying that
“unfortunately, shipping and logistics companies are from time to time affected by trafficking problems. MSC has a longstanding history of cooperating with U.S. federal law enforcement agencies to help disrupt illegal narcotics trafficking.”
MSC added an update Tuesday saying it was cooperating with law enforcement and is not a target of the US government’s investigation, CNN reports.
“Seizing a vessel of this size is an unusual enforcement action for CBP, but is indicative of the serious consequences associated with an alleged conspiracy by crewmembers and others to smuggle a record load of dangerous drugs through the United States,” added Casey Durst, the CBP’s Director of Field Operations in Baltimore.
