Coast Guard offloads more than $50 million worth of cocaine

U.S. Coast Guard sent this bulletin at 09/17/2017 07:18 PM EDT

united states coast guard 

News Release  

Sept. 17, 2017
U.S. Coast Guard 7th District PA Detachment Tampa Bay
Contact: Coast Guard PA Detachment Tampa Bay
(305) 965-4672

Coast Guard offloads more than $50 million worth of cocaine

 A Coast Guard Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew and a small boat crew from the Coast Guard Cutter Tahoma arrive to a 226-foot tanker in the Caribbean in August, 2017. Coast Guard law enforcement officers seized 60 bales of contraband from the tanker, which later tested positive for cocaine. (U.S. Coast Guard photo/ Released) Lifejackets and cuffs are shown on the ground after suspected drug smugglers were transferred from the Coast Guard Cutter Diligence to law enforcement officials in St. Petersburg, Florida, Sept. 17, 2017. Diligence crewmembers offloaded more than 1,800 kilograms of cocaine after the Coast Guard Cutter Tahoma interdicted the contraband in the Caribbean in August. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Ashley J. Johnson/ Released)   A Coast Guard Cutter Diligence crewmember stacks bales of cocaine in front of the Diligence in St. Petersburg, Florida, Sept. 17, 2017. Diligence crewmembers offloaded more than 1,800 kilograms of cocaine after the Coast Guard Cutter Tahoma interdicted the contraband in the Caribbean in August. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Ashley J. Johnson/ Released)

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Coast Guard Cutter Diligence crewmembers offloaded approximately 1,800 kilograms of cocaine worth an estimated wholesale value of more than $50 million in St. Petersburg, Saturday.

The offload is a result of a drug interdiction in the Caribbean by Coast Guard Cutter Tahoma crewmembers in August.

While on routine patrol, Tahoma crewmembers detected and intercepted a 226-foot tanker suspected of smuggling contraband. The Tahoma crew launched a Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron MH-65 Dolphin helicopter and small boat to the tanker. Coast Guard law enforcement officers seized 60 bales of contraband, which later tested positive for cocaine.

The tanker, contraband and suspected smugglers were turned over to federal law enforcement officials in St. Petersburg.

“This offload sends a direct message to those that seek to exploit a disaster to smuggle contraband at sea, that our operations continue to support border and national security,” said Rear Adm. Peter Brown, commander of the Coast Guard’s 7th District. “While we continue to support hurricane response efforts, our interagency partners at the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice remain focused and committed to dismantling these criminal organizations.”

The Coast Guard increased U.S. and allied presence in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Basin, which are known drug transit zones off of Central and South America, as part of the Western Hemisphere Strategy. During at-sea interdictions in international waters, a suspected vessel is initially located and tracked by allied military or law enforcement personnel. The interdictions, including the actual boardings, are led and conducted by U.S. Coast Guardsmen. The law enforcement phase of counter smuggling operations in the Caribbean Sea are conducted under the authority of the 7th Coast Guard District headquartered in Miami, Fla.

The cutter Diligence is a 210-foot Medium Endurance cutter homeported in Wilmington, North Carolina.

The cutter Tahoma is a 270-foot Medium Endurance cutter homeported in Kittery, Maine.

The Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew is based in Jacksonville, Florida.

 

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-USCG-