A US Coast Guard law enforcement detachment (LEDET) deployed on the US Navy Freedom-class littoral combat ship USS Billings stopped a suspected drug smuggling vessel approximately eight miles (13 kilometres) off Mole Saint-Nicolas, Haiti, on April 30.
With the permission of the Haitian Government, the LEDET boarding team’s investigation resulted in approximately 3,200 pounds (1,500 kg) of marijuana being found, worth approximately US$3.8 million, and one person was detained.
The contraband and suspected smuggler were transferred to Haitian authorities on Sunday, May 3.
Other assets and crews involved in the successful interdiction operation include the US Coast Guard medium endurance cutter USCGC Venturous; US Coast Guard Tactical Law Enforcement Team South, LEDET 405; US Navy Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 48, Detachment Three; Joint Interagency Task Force-South (JIATF-S); and Coast Guard Southeast District watchstanders.
JIATF-S, in Key West, Florida, conducts the detection and monitoring of aerial and maritime transit of illegal drugs. Once an interdiction becomes imminent, the law enforcement phase of the operation begins, and control of the operation shifts to the US Coast Guard for the interdiction and apprehension phases.
Interdictions in the Caribbean Sea are performed by members of the coast guard under the authority and control of the Coast Guard Southeast District, headquartered in Miami.