US customs authorities seize JPMorgan-owned vessel after authorities found $ 1 billion worth of drugs

• Federal prosecutors in Philadelphia seized a container ship operated by the Mediterranean Shipping Co. and owned by JPMorgan Asset Management.
• This was weeks after the authorities discovered that cocaine aboard the ship accounted for more than a billion dollars, in one of the biggest drug crimes in American history.
• At least half a dozen crew members have been arrested, according to Homeland Security investigations, and the investigation is underway.
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Federal prosecutors in Philadelphia seized a container ship operated by the Mediterranean Shipping Co., weeks after the authorities had discovered more than $ 1 billion worth of cocaine aboard the ship, one of the most big drug traffic in American history.

Customs and US border protection seized the vessel on July 4, according to a statement released on Monday. The vessel belongs to the client's assets as part of a maritime strategy proposed by JPMorgan Asset Management, according to a person familiar with the subject. It is operated by the MSC based in Switzerland.

On June 18, CBP officers found 39,525 pounds of cocaine in several containers on the MSC Gayane in Philadelphia harbor. The market value of these drugs was estimated at about $ 1.3 billion, making it the largest seizure of cocaine by the agency.

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"The seizure of a ship of this size is complex and unprecedented, but it is appropriate because the circumstances here are also unprecedented," said US lawyer William McSwain. "We found about 20 tons of cocaine hidden on this ship."

At least half a dozen crew members have been arrested, according to Homeland Security investigations, and the investigation is underway. The charges included a conspiracy to possess cocaine aboard a ship.

The Gayane sailed under the Liberian flag and had already crossed the Bahamas and several countries of South America, according to an online ship tracker.

JPMorgan declined to comment. Mediterranean Shipping Co. did not immediately respond to a request by email.

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