A Coast Guard ship returned to port in San Diego, California, with approximately $37 million worth of cocaine seized from drug-smuggling boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean, according to the agency.
The Active offloaded more than 2,000 pounds of cocaine Wednesday. The ship is part of U.S. Southern Command’s enhanced counternarcotics operation that started in April and is meant to stop South and Central American drug runners from getting their product to Mexico or the Caribbean, where it is transported to the United States.
“This patrol, and this interdiction in particular, highlights the resilience and professionalism of Active’s crew,” Cmdr. James O’Mara said in a statement. “We canceled a port visit, stretched logistics, and diverted 500 miles to get on target and do our job. No captain could ask or expect more from a crew, especially given all the adversity overcome during this patrol.”
Coast Guard ships deployed to the waters around South and Central America respond to suspicious vessels that Customs and Border Protection’s Air and Marine Operations planes patrolling the open waters spot from overhead. It is common for smugglers to use panga boats, or fast boats, packed with cocaine, to run hundreds of pounds north, avoiding international border checkpoints through Central America.
The seizures by the Coast Guard, which is under the Department of Homeland Security, are significantly larger than drug busts made by land-based CBP employees at border crossings.
The Active’s home is in Port Angeles, Washington, and its crew normally operates between the Strait of Juan de Fuca near Seattle and the Central American coast.
