Coast Guard tangles with international drug boats and confiscates 4,800 pounds of cocaine worth more than $63M

U.S. Coast Guard tangles with international drug boats and confiscate 4,800 pounds of cocaine worth more than $63M — (U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Resolute)

On June 7, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) announced that its Southeast unit and the crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Resolute, in collaboration with the Royal Netherlands Navy, confiscated 4,800 pounds of cocaine worth more than $63 million, and unloaded that cache at Port Everglades, Florida, on Thursday, June 6. The Coast Guard also provided images of the massive drug bust’s spoils, where officers can be seen offloading large, sealed containers from the ship onto pallets at the Florida port.

This offload was the result of two simultaneous interdictions by HNMLS Groningen with embarked U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment 110 and Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron, 24 miles north of Puerto Cabello, Venezuela. According to the USCG, they and their international partners continue to interdict drug smuggling ventures in international waters to “reduce the flow of illicit drugs, disrupt transnational criminal organizations, and increase interoperability with our foreign allies and interagency partners.”

These operations align with strategic objectives to disrupt the capabilities of drug trafficking organizations, save lives, and directly support the National Drug Control Strategy, according to a statement from the agency.

It was the second time the joint operation engaged a vessel believed to be carrying drugs this week. In a release Tuesday, a Coast Guard spokesperson said the team engaged a high-speed vessel in the Caribbean Sea thought to be smuggling narcotics.

The vessel refused orders to stop and instead increased speed and changed direction toward the Dutch pursuit boat. The boat of Dutch and US Coast Guard members opened fire on the boat in self-defense, US Coast Guard officials said. ~ The Associated Press

Crew members on the FRISC <fast-raiding interception and special forces craft> which included U.S. and Dutch Coast Guard, discharged weapons at the vessel “in self-defense and defense of others in response to the life-threatening situation,” the U.S. Coast Guard said. The vessel caught fire and sank. Three suspected smugglers went overboard. A search for the smugglers was suspended Tuesday, authorities said.