The US Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Gravely seized an estimated 860 pounds (390 kg) of illegal drugs from a vessel in the Caribbean Sea on May 25.
The interdiction by Gravely was conducted by the ship’s visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) team alongside a US Coast Guard law enforcement detachment (LEDET) assigned to the ship.
Gravely’s VBSS team boarded a vessel of interest and discovered and seized 19 bales of cocaine, with an approximate weight of 860 pounds and an estimated value of US$13.65 million.
US Navy forces are deployed under US Northern Command’s maritime homeland defence authorities with a LEDET embarked to enable maritime interdiction missions to prevent the flow of illegal drugs and other illegal activity.
Since entering the Gulf of America on March 15, Gravely has received support from P-8 aircraft assigned to Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida, allowing for enhanced and increased identification of illicit activity for the embarked coast guard LEDET in the Gulf of America and the US Second Fleet and US Fourth Fleet areas of operation.
Utilising the coast guard’s jurisdiction, Gravely employs LEDET personnel to perform vessel boardings, searches, and seizures in US and international waters, targeting drug trafficking, illegal immigration, and transnational crime with a nexus at the US southern border.