Media Advisory: Alameda, California-based national security cutter to return home following counterdrug patrol, $100M worth of cocaine seized
U.S. Coast Guard sent this bulletin at 12/20/2019 06:13 PM EST
Media Advisory |
Dec. 21, 2019 |
Media Advisory: Alameda, California-based national security cutter to return home following counterdrug patrol, $100M worth of cocaine seized
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Who: U. S. Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf (WMSL 750) Commanding Officer Capt. Brian Anderson and crew
What: To return home following a 82-day counter-narcotics patrol
When: 9:30 a.m. Monday
Where: Coast Guard Island, Alameda, California
*Media wishing to attend should arrive by 9 a.m. and bring media credentials, a valid driver’s license and proof of insurance. Please email D11-DG-M-PACAREA-PA@uscg.mil or call 510-333-6297 to RSVP.
ALAMEDA, Calif. — An Alameda-based national security cutter and crew are scheduled to return home Monday following a 82-day counter-narcotics patrol to the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf (WMSL 750) will return to the cutter's homeport after offloading more than 18,000 pounds of cocaine in San Diego Wednesday worth more than an estimated $312 million.
The drugs offloaded Wednesday represented seven separate suspected drug smuggling vessel interdictions and disruptions by five Coast Guard cutter crews patrolling international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean off the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America between mid-October and early December.
Bertholf’s crew was responsible for three interdictions, seizing 5,851 pounds of cocaine worth more than an estimated $100 million.
Vice Adm. Linda L. Fagan, Coast Guard Pacific Area commander, U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer, Southern District of California, and Principal Deputy Administrator Preston Grubbs, Drug Enforcement Agency addressed Bertholf’s crew prior to Wednesday’s offload.
“This offload demonstrates another successful example of the ‘Cycle of Justice,’ said Fagan. “This cycle begins with intelligence-driven detection and monitoring of illicit activities that then cue the interdiction and apprehension of smugglers and contraband, and ultimately leads to criminal prosecution. This 'Cycle of Justice' disrupts a 'Cycle of Crime,' which left unchecked, fuels violence and instability that corrodes our Hemisphere's social and economic fabric, and directly contributes to historically high drug-related deaths in neighborhoods across North America.”
-USCG-