Coast Guard Cutter Spencer returns home after seizing $19M of cocaine in the Eastern Pacific

News Release

U.S. Coast Guard 1st District Northeast Contact: 1st District Public Affairs Office: (617) 223-8515 After Hours: (617) 717-9609 1st District online newsroom

Coast Guard Cutter Spencer returns home after $19M drug bust in the Eastern Pacific

Editors' Note: Click on images to download high-resolution version.

BOSTON — The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Spencer returned to Boston Sunday after conducting an 80-day counter-drug patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

Spencer’s crew seized approximately 700 kilograms of cocaine, valued at $19 million, after interdicting a smuggling vessel in ongoing efforts to disrupt transnational crime organizations.  

The crew’s patrol spanned more than 14,000 nautical miles and focused on enforcing international counter-trafficking laws, supporting U.S. partnerships with Central and South American countries, and helping to preserve the national security of the United States.

The crew also responded to multiple search and rescue cases including a distress call from an aircraft experiencing an engine casualty.

"Spencer’s crew is happy to be home and is looking forward to spending time with family and friends in their homeport of Boston, Massachusetts during the holidays," said Cmdr. Thomas Rodzewicz, commanding officer of Spencer.

Coast Guard Cutter Spencer is a 270-foot medium endurance cutter with a crew complement of 100.

 

-USCG-