MEDIA AVAILABILITY: Alameda-based Coast Guard cutter to return home following 90-day patrol, more than 16,000 pounds of cocaine seized

Media Availability

U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area Contact: Coast Guard Pacific Area Public Affairs Office: (510) 437-5682 After Hours: (510) 816-1700 Pacific Area online newsroom

Alameda-based Coast Guard cutter to return home following 90-day patrol, more than 16,000 pounds of cocaine seized

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WHAT: The Coast Guard Cutter Stratton is scheduled to return home following a 90-day multi-mission patrol from the Bering Sea to the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

 

WHO: Coast Guard Cutter Stratton’s commanding officer will be available for interviews discussing the cutter’s recent patrol, which resulted in 16,473 pounds of cocaine seized in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

 

WHEN: Thursday at 3:30 p.m.

 

WHERE: Coast Guard Island, 1800 Dennison St., Alameda, CA, 94501

Editor's Note: Media interested in attending should arrive by 3 p.m. and bring a government-issued photo ID, press credentials, proof of vehicle registration and vehicle insurance. Times are approximate.

ALAMEDA, Calif. — Crewmembers aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Stratton are scheduled to arrive home to Alameda Thursday at 3:30 p.m. following a 90-day, 23,500 nautical-mile patrol to the Bering Sea and the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

 

Stratton crewmembers offloaded more than 11 tons of seized cocaine Wednesday in San Diego. The drugs offloaded were seized in international waters from late August to mid-September during the interdiction of eight suspected smuggling vessels found off the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America by the Coast Guard cutters Stratton (WMSL-752), Seneca (WMEC-906) and Active (WMEC-618).

• Stratton was responsible for six cases, seizing an estimated 16,473 pounds of cocaine.
• Seneca was responsible for one case, seizing an estimated 2,954 pounds of cocaine.
• Active was responsible for one case, seizing an estimated 2,646 pounds of cocaine.

"This offload reflects the outstanding efforts of the Coast Guard and our partner agencies to disrupt and dismantle transnational criminal organizations,” said Capt. Craig J. Wieschhorster, commanding officer of Coast Guard Cutter Stratton. “These interdiction results take hundreds of millions of dollars away from these criminal networks that work to undermine the rule of law in South and Central America which increases migration pressures on the U.S. southern border. Keeping this product off the streets of America saves lives, and I am very proud of the efforts of my crew."

 

Numerous U.S. agencies from the Departments of Defense, Justice and Homeland Security cooperated in the effort to combat transnational organized crime. The Coast Guard, Navy, Customs and Border Protection, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and Immigration and Customs Enforcement along with allied and international partner agencies play a role in counter-drug operations. The fight against transnational criminal organizations in the Eastern Pacific requires unity of effort in all phases from detection, monitoring and interdictions, to criminal prosecutions by U.S. Attorneys in districts across the nation.

 

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 its Western Hemisphere Strategy. During at-sea interdictions in international waters, a suspect vessel is initially detected and monitored by allied, military or law enforcement personnel coordinated by Joint Interagency Task Force-South based in Key West, Florida. The law enforcement phase of counter-smuggling operations in the Eastern Pacific is conducted under the authority of the 11th Coast Guard District, headquartered in Alameda. The interdictions, including the actual boardings, are led and conducted by members of the U.S. Coast Guard.

 

Stratton is a 418-foot National Security Cutter and one of four NSCs homeported in Alameda. NSCs are designed to patrol the open ocean and serve as a command and control center for complex law enforcement, defense and national security missions. NSCs displace 4,500 tons with a full load, have a range of 12,000 miles and can endure up to 90-day patrol cycles. The cutters feature advanced command, control, communication, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment, aviation support facilities and a stern cutter boat launch.

 

 

-USCG-