U.S. Coast Guard Crew Offloads $335.8 Million Worth Of Cocaine In San Diego

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Munro offloaded over 29,000 pounds of cocaine, valued at approximately $335.8 million, at a San Diego port on November 19, 2024.

The drugs were seized during 11 separate interdictions involving suspected drug-smuggling vessels in the Eastern Pacific Ocean during September and October.

The operations, targeting routes off the coasts of Central America, South America and Mexico, were conducted under the Coast Guard’s District Eleven jurisdiction, based in Alameda, California.

The Coast Guard officials attributed the successful seizures to the teamwork and effective coordination among the crew of U.S. agencies and international partners.

The commanding officer of the Coast Guard Cutter, Munro, said that the missions rely heavily on cooperation across various organisations to prevent illegal narcotics from reaching global cities.

The Eastern Pacific Ocean is challenging logistically and operationally because of its vast area, making anti-drug operations demanding.

Despite these challenges, the Coast Guard continues to combat transnational drug cartels through detection, monitoring, interdiction, and prosecution.

The offload is part of the Organised Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) initiative, which aims to dismantle high-level criminal networks using intelligence-driven, multi-agency operations.

The United States Navy, Customs and Border Protection, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, along with international partners, have collaborated in these efforts.

The Munro, a legend class national security cutter operates in some of the world’s most challenging open-ocean environments. These include dangerous fisheries of the North Pacific and drug trafficking hotspots of the Southern Pacific.

Rear Adm. Joseph Buzzella of Coast Guard District Eleven discussed the role of collaborations in ensuring the security and stability of the region.

Reference: U.S. Coast Guard

Source: Maritime Shipping News