The U.S. Coast Guard seized more than four tons of cocaine worth an estimated $64.5 million in the Caribbean Sea, officials said.
The seized contraband, totaling more than five tons of narcotics overall, was a result of two interdictions in international waters by the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Diligence, the Coast Guard said in a press release Wednesday.
Diligence, a 210-foot, Reliance-class medium endurance cutter, was deployed to the Coast Guard District Southeast area of responsibility in support of the Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF-S)
“I am remarkably proud of the crew and appreciative of the efforts of JIATF-S and Coast Guard District Southeast,” said Cmdr. Colin McKee, commanding officer of the Diligence.
“This joint effort helped us prevent more than four tons of illegal drugs from entering the United States. While this offload marks another milestone in our efforts to counter narco-terrorism, the Coast Guard remains relentless in our operations to control, secure, and defend U.S. borders and maritime approaches.”
Diligence’s crew on Aug. 7 detected and boarded a suspicious go-fast vessel approximately 136 miles southwest of Negril, Jamaica. Diligence’s boarding team interdicted the vessel, seizing 1,500 pounds of marijuana.
The contraband was then transferred to and offloaded by the Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton in Port Everglades on Aug. 25, as part of the largest quantity of drugs offloaded in Coast Guard history.
On Sep. 6, a maritime patrol craft spotted a suspicious go-fast vessel approximately 240 miles north of Panama. Diligence’s boarding team interdicted the vessel, seizing more than 8,700 pounds of cocaine.
The cocaine was offloaded by Diligence’s crew and transferred to case agents in St. Petersburg on Monday.
“These drugs fuel and enable foreign terrorist organizations and transnational criminal organizations to produce and traffic illegal fentanyl, threatening the United States,” USCG said.
“Detecting and interdicting narco-terrorism on the high seas involves significant interagency and international coordination because 80% of U.S.-bound drugs are interdicted on the high seas.”
The Coast Guard announced last week it has seized more than 75,000 pounds of cocaine in the Eastern Pacific Ocean since launching Operation Pacific Viper in early August, averaging over 1,800 pounds interdicted daily.
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