Cargo ship seized in Philadelphia with nearly 20 tons of cocaine worth more than $1BILLION on board is owned by JP Morgan

  • The MSC Gayane is owned by a fund run by the bank's asset management unit
  • JP Morgan is understood to not have any operational control and the ship is chartered to the Swiss-based Mediterranean Shipping Company
  • It was the largest cocaine haul in the history of US Customs at the port in June
  • The drugs were seized at the Packer Marine Terminal from cargo containers 
  • At least six crew members from Serbia and Samoa have been charged 
  • Officials at first seized just the drugs before taking custody of the ship too

A cargo ship that had 16.5 tons of cocaine worth more than $1 billion seized from it in Philadelphia in one of the largest drug busts in US history is owned by JP Morgan, it has emerged. 

The $90 million MSC Gayane is owned by a transportation strategy fund run by the banking giant's asset management unit, a source confirmed. 

JP Morgan is understood to not have any operational control and the ship is chartered to the Swiss-based Mediterranean Shipping Company. 

In what was the largest cocaine haul in the history of US Customs 35,000lbs of cocaine was seized by federal officials from a ship at the Philadelphia port in June.

The drugs were seized the Packer Marine Terminal from cargo containers aboard the MSC Gayane, which arrived there after making a port call in Colombia on May 19.  

The vessels also made stops in Peru, Panama and the Bahamas before reaching the Port of Philadelphia.  

At least six crew members from Serbia and Samoa have been charged with conspiracy to possess cocaine aboard a ship. The federal investigation continues.   

Cranes unload the freight ship MSC Gayane, after US authorities seized more than 16 tons of cocaine at the Packer Marine Terminal in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on June 18. The MSC Gayane is owned by JP Morgan, it has since emerged

Cranes unload the freight ship MSC Gayane, after US authorities seized more than 16 tons of cocaine at the Packer Marine Terminal in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on June 18. The MSC Gayane is owned by JP Morgan, it has since emerged

Some of the 35,000 pounds of cocaine that U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations seized on the MSC Gayane in seven shipping containers

Some of the 35,000 pounds of cocaine that U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations seized on the MSC Gayane in seven shipping containers

The MSC Gayane is owned by a transportation strategy fund run by the banking giant's asset management unit, a source confirmed. Police stand guard over cocaine seized from the ship

The MSC Gayane is owned by a transportation strategy fund run by the banking giant's asset management unit, a source confirmed. Police stand guard over cocaine seized from the ship

JP Morgan is not understood to have any operational control and the ship is chartered to the Swiss-based Mediterranean Shipping Company. Its headquarters in New York is pictured

JP Morgan is not understood to have any operational control and the ship is chartered to the Swiss-based Mediterranean Shipping Company. Its headquarters in New York is pictured 

'This amount of cocaine could kill millions – MILLIONS – of people,' U.S. Attorney William McSwain said on Twitter at the time.

DailyMail.com contacted JPMorgan, who declined to comment.     

US Attorney William McSwain, whose office is handling the prosecutions, confirmed MSC is a Swiss-based shipping company, and one of the world's largest shipping lines in terms of containers. 

Officials at first seized just the drugs but it was announced Monday a warrant had been issued on July 4 that allowed Customs and Border Protection officials to take custody of the ship itself as well.

Last month, MSC said in a statement: 'Unfortunately, shipping and logistics companies are from time to time affected by trafficking problems.

COCAINE BUSTS ALONG THE EAST COAST

Gayane is at least the third ship in Mediterranean Shipping Company's fleet to have been raided by U.S. authorities this year.

In February, customs agents seized the largest shipment of cocaine intercepted at the port in Newark, New Jersey, in nearly 25 years - about 3,200 pounds, or 1,451 kilograms - from a container aboard the MSC Carlotta.

In March, law enforcement agents searched a container offloaded from the MSC Desiree at Philadelphia's port and found 13 large duffel bags stuffed with 1,185 pounds, or 538 kilograms, of cocaine. At the time, it was the largest cocaine seizure at the port in more than 20 years. 

Experts say that the boom in cocaine trafficking is fueled by excess supply in Colombia, where eradication efforts have been lax in recent years.

The dangerous combination of cocaine with the powerful opioid fentanyl into a modern-day speedball is also creating soaring new demand.

In Philadelphia, fentanyl was detected in a third of all cocaine-related overdose deaths in 2017, a dramatic increase from the year prior, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.  

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'MSC has a longstanding history of cooperating with U.S. federal law enforcement agencies to help disrupt illegal narcotics trafficking.' 

It said Tuesday that it is not a target of the investigation. 

The drugs were concealed in seven shipping containers aboard the ship and when agents opened up the containers they saw the drugs in bags, an official said.  

McSwain said: 'You thought you could breeze to our port and leave with enough cocaine to destroy millions of lives without getting caught. You thought you were clever. You were wrong.

'You underestimated the city, you underestimated our law enforcement capabilities, and you underestimated our commitment to decimate the evil and immoral drug trade.'

Authorities boarded the ship for a routine screening, and detected anomalies while examining seven shipping containers on board, they said.

Agents escorted the ship into its berth in Philadelphia and a full investigation involving drug-sniffing dogs and an X-ray scanner led to the discovery of the colossal cocaine stash. 

According to a criminal complaint the MSC Gayne's second mate told investigators that after the ship departed Peru, he saw nets near the ship's crane that contained bags, and that he and four others had hoisted the bags onto the ship and loaded them into containers, reported ABC News. He said he had been promised $50,000 for handling the cargo.

It is unclear whether the drugs seized were intended for the US or Europe but the ship was headed for northern Europe at the time it was raided.

Under heavy security, federal agents displayed the thousands of pounds of seized cocaine during a briefing at Philadelphia's Custom House last month.

The drugs were seized the Packer Marine Terminal from cargo containers aboard the MSC Gayane, which arrived there after making a port call in Colombia on May 19

The drugs were seized the Packer Marine Terminal from cargo containers aboard the MSC Gayane, which arrived there after making a port call in Colombia on May 19

The drugs were concealed in seven shipping containers aboard the ship and when agents opened up the containers they saw the drugs in bags, an official said

The drugs were concealed in seven shipping containers aboard the ship and when agents opened up the containers they saw the drugs in bags, an official said

Authorities boarded the ship for a routine screening, and detected anomalies while examining seven shipping containers on board, they said

Authorities boarded the ship for a routine screening, and detected anomalies while examining seven shipping containers on board, they said

Cardboard boxes were stacked higher than the agents guarding them, and piles of green- and blue-wrapped and numbered bricks were stacked in neat pyramids in the building's foyer.

James Carroll, director of the US Office of National Drug Control Policy, said the Trump administration is committed to hunting down drug traffickers and bringing them to justice.

'Make no mistake, we will use every resource at our disposal to find these traffickers and once we have them in custody we will employ the fullest measure of the law possible,' he said. 'We also must never forget to help our fellow citizens who are struggling with addiction and need help.'  

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