The US Coast Guard has offloaded in the region of 29,600 pounds of cocaine and 3,355 pounds of marijuana, with an estimated total value of around USD226 million, at Port Everglades, Florida.
The drugs were seized during six interdictions in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
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The seizures were carried out by the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Tampa, working alongside several US military and law enforcement units as part of operations targeting maritime drug trafficking.
The operation involved the US Coast Guard Tactical Law Enforcement Team-Pacific, Law Enforcement Detachment 102, the Coast Guard Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron, Joint Interagency Task Force South, Coast Guard Southwest District and the USS Gridley.
Capt. Joshua DiPietro, Commanding Officer of the Coast Guard Cutter Tampa, said: “This crew was phenomenal in successfully stopping a combined 32,000 pounds of contraband from reaching American shores.”
The seizures form part of the Coast Guard’s wider efforts to intercept cocaine and other illicit drugs transported by sea, disrupting trafficking networks and their revenue streams.
Vice Adm. Jo-Ann Burdian, Commander of US Coast Guard Atlantic Area, stated: “The Coast Guard continues to leverage its authorities and partnerships across the Western Hemisphere to degrade Transnational Criminal Organizations’ ability to harm American communities.”
The Coast Guard is conducting counter-narcotics operations under Operation Pacific Viper, working with local, state, federal and international partners to detect and disrupt transnational criminal organisations. Activities include surveillance, maritime interdictions and support for criminal prosecutions.
The Tampa is a 270-foot medium-endurance cutter based in Portsmouth, Virginia, under US Coast Guard Atlantic Area Command.