The seizure of cocaine from an MSC boxship has become the biggest in US history.

NBC cited the Customs and Border Patrol as saying that it had now recovered nearly 20 tons of the drug from the 9,962-teu MSC Gayane (built 2018) in Philadelphia.

This is worth $1.3bn. Officials initially found 15.5 tons of cocaine in seven boxes earlier this month.

Six crew have been charged in connection with the raid.

All the suspects are Samoan or Serbian, the report said.

They have been identified as Ivan Durasevic, Nenad Ilic, Aleksandar Kavaia, Bosko Markovic, Laauli Pulu and Fonofaavae Tiasaga.

The investigation continues.