‘Dope on a Rope’ Cocaine Seized

The seizure of cocaine valued at $40 million from a freighter in the Miami River marks the return of “dope on a rope,” a smuggling tactic used by Caribbean drug runners in the 1980s, the U.S. Customs Service said. The capture of 5,137 pounds of cocaine was one of the largest hauls in South Florida in recent years, officials said in Miami. Aboard the Isamar, agents found 86 bales of cocaine packed into kilogram-sized bricks bundled into white plastic bags trussed with rope. Individual bundles were tied together like beads on a string, officials said. Thirteen crew members were arrested.