The United States Coast Guard recently offloaded over 37,000 pounds of cocaine seized from drug traffickers off the coasts of Mexico, Central America, and South America.
In a February press release, the U.S. Coast Guard announced that the Coast Guard Cutter Waesche offloaded roughly 37,256 pounds of cocaine in San Diego, with an estimated worth of over $275 million.
The Coast Guard explained in the press release that the major offload came after “11 separate suspected drug smuggling vessel interdictions or events off the coasts of Mexico and Central and South America” by the Coast Guard vessel from December to February.
“The Waesche crew faced numerous challenges during this patrol, overcoming the hardest adversities and still had 11 successful drug interdictions,” Capt. Tyson Scofield, commanding officer of the Coast Guard Cutter Waesche, said. “Their dedication, strength of character, and resilience ensured the success of our mission, preventing over $275 million worth of illicit narcotics from reaching the United States and protecting our communities from the devastating effects of transnational crime.”
A video shared on X, formerly Twitter, by USA Today shows the U.S. Coast Guard offloading the massive amount of cocaine seized during the 11 drug interdictions completed by the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Waesche.
“The fight against drug cartels in the Eastern Pacific Ocean requires unity of effort in all phases, from detection, monitoring and interdictions to criminal prosecutions by international partners and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in districts across the nation,” the Coast Guard stated in the recent press release.
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The Coast Guard explained that the law enforcement portion of the counter-smuggling operations in the Eastern Pacific Ocean region is executed under the Eleventh Coast Guard District, which is based in Alameda, California. On the other hand, the press release noted that the actual interdiction and boarding missions are executed by the Coast Guard.
“The Coast Guard continues to increase operations to interdict, seize, and disrupt transshipment of cocaine and other bulk illicit drugs by sea,” the press release added. “These drugs fuel and enable cartels and Transnational Criminal Organizations to produce and traffic illegal fentanyl threatening the U.S.”
