The US Coast Guard has released details of what it says is the largest maritime drugs seizure in history.
The authorities say over 17 tonnes of cocaine with an estimated street value of $500m were found in three separate raids off the Pacific coast of Central America.
A statement said drug-trafficking routes through the Pacific onto the US western seaboard were among the most popular used by smugglers, accounting for roughly 70% of cocaine seized.
The raids included one where 38,000lbs of cocaine, said to be worth $500m, was seized after the US Coast Guard swooped on a Panamanian-registered boat off the coast of Panama on 18 March.
When US authorities boarded the vessel they found the record cocaine haul stuffed into 765 bales.
The boat and its 14 crew members were escorted back to Panama for further legal action.
Previous record cocaine busts were a haul of 30,000lbs in 2004 and 26,300lbs in 2001.
