News Release |
U.S. Coast Guard 7th District Southeast |
Coast Guard offloads 18.5 tons of cocaine in Port Everglades
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MIAMI — The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter James (WMSL-754) offloaded approximately 18.5 tons of cocaine Thursday in Port Everglades worth more than an estimated $500 million wholesale seized in international waters in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
The drugs were interdicted off the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America by multiple U.S. Coast Guard cutters.
The offload represents 15 separate, suspected drug smuggling vessel interdictions by the Coast Guard:
Numerous U.S. agencies from the Departments of Defense, Justice and Homeland Security are involved 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 organized crime networks in the Eastern Pacific requires unity of effort in all phases from detection, monitoring and interdictions, to prosecutions by U.S. Attorneys in California, on the East Coast, and in Puerto Rico.
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 located and tracked by allied, military or law enforcement personnel. The interdictions, including the actual boarding, are led and conducted by U.S. Coast Guardsmen. The law enforcement phase of counter-smuggling operations in the Eastern Pacific are conducted under the authority of the Coast Guard 11th District headquartered in Alameda, California.
The cutter Bear is a 270-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in Portsmouth, Virginia. The cutter Stratton is a 418-foot legend-class cutter homeported in Alameda, California. The cutter Active is a 210-foot reliance-class cutter homeported in Port Angeles, Washington. The cutter Dauntless is a 210-foot reliance-class cutter homeported in Pensacola, Florida. The cutter Venturous is a 210-foot reliance-class cutter homeported in St. Petersburg, Florida. The cutter James is a 418-foot legend-class cutter homeported in North Charleston, South Carolina. The cutter Spencer is a 270-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in Boston, Massachusetts. The cutter Campbell is a 270-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in Kittery, Maine.
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