Coast Guard seizes 20,000 pounds of cocaine and offloads it in San Diego

The U.S. Coast Guard offloaded approximately $338 million worth of cocaine in San Diego Monday, the result of a monthslong operation in the Pacific Ocean.

Four different crews acquired nearly 20,000 pounds of the illicit substance from what the military branch described as “known drug-transit zones” off the coasts of Mexico, Central America and South America, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. Crews from the cutters Thetis, Resolute, Tampa and Munro made eight seizures between mid-November and mid-January.

Rear Adm. Peter Gautier, the 11th Coast Guard District commander, said Monday that the cocaine was headed to Central America to be diluted with other chemicals before being smuggled into the United States. Operations like this, according to Gautier, provide “invaluable information” to stop the supply chain of illegal drugs.

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“By disrupting the profits of these cartels, we are reducing their effectiveness and helping our partner nations maintain their stability,” Gautier said.

Coast Guard Cutter Munro (WMSL 755) crew members inspect a go-fast vessel in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean Jan. 16, 2020.Petty Officer 1st Class Mark Barney / U.S. Coast Guard

A crew member, who was not named, told NBC San Diego described the bust as “exhilarating.”

“We’re out here doing this great job, helping people out, stopping the bad guys,” the crew member said. “It’s an honor being aboard this boat and with the Coast Guard doing this.”

Monday’s offload is the latest in a number of high volume drug seizures made by the Coast Guard in recent months.

The military branch unloaded 27,300 pounds of cocaine and 11,000 pounds of marijuana found in international waters in Florida in October. Just weeks prior to that the Coast Guard announced it had captured a 40-foot-long submarine carrying 12,000 pounds of cocaine worth more than $165 million in the Pacific Ocean.

Vice President Mike Pence was present in July when the Coast Guard offloaded 39,000 pounds of cocaine and 933 pounds of marijuana seized in the Pacific Ocean between May and July. The estimated value of those drugs was about $569 million.

Coast Guard Cutter Munro was part of that operation as well, its first drug patrol since being commissioned in 2017. The new vessel is one of six state-of-the-art cutters added to the Coast Guard fleet in recent years, the military branch told NBC News in July.

source: nbcnews.com