U.S Coast Guard Cutter Returns to San Diego With 37,256 Pounds Of Cocaine Worth $275 Million

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Waesche came back to San Diego and unloaded more than 37,000 pounds of cocaine, confiscated through 11 drug interdiction missions off the coasts of Mexico and Central and South America from December to mid-February.

The narcotics haul weighing almost as much as a humpback whale is worth approximately $275 million and comes days after a search operation ended for a crew member, the 23-year-old Bryan Lee, who is said to be lost at sea.

Lee from Rancho Cordova was found missing in the morning of last Tuesday while the vessel was on its usual patrol around 300 nm south of Mexico. Over 190 hours were spent to search the 19,000 nm for Lee using ships, aircraft and drones before the search was suspended on Monday.

A few moments of silence were observed for him in a recent news conference. Coast Guard spokesperson Christopher Sappey stated it was odd for a crew guard member to go missing on patrols but he did highlight the dangerous nature of their work which involved boarding smuggling ships in challenging ocean conditions.

The crew members completed 6 missions in just 6 days, seizing cocaine enough for 33 million hits of the drug, which won’t reach American streets, thanks to the crew of the ship. The narcotics will be sent to other agencies for testing and then destruction, added Sappey.

This drug seizure comes at a time when the Coast Guard is increasing efforts to disrupt transnational shipment of illicit drugs by cartels in South and Central American seas, stated Vice Admiral Andrew Tiongson.

The battle against these drug cartels requires careful planning and unity in all the phases of operations right from detection to monitoring and interdictions to criminal prosecutions by international partners and U.S. Attorney’s Offices in districts across the country.

Law enforcement is carried out under the authority of the Eleventh Coast Guard District based in Alameda, California. The interdictions and boardings are conducted by members of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Coast Guard Cutter Waesche is one of the four legend-class national security cutters with its homeport in Alameda, California. It operates in the most challenging open ocean environments and the dangerous Southern Pacific where major drug trafficking happens.

References: United States Coast Guard, Los Angeles Times

Source: Maritime Shipping News