US Coast Guard cutter scores $74m drug bust in Atlantic Ocean
A small boat from the US Coast Guard cutter Calhoun approaches a vessel suspected of drug smuggling in the Atlantic Ocean, April 12, 2025.US Coast Guard

US Coast Guard cutter scores $74m drug bust in Atlantic Ocean

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The crew of the US Coast Guard Legend-class cutter USCGC Calhoun seized approximately 10,000 pounds (4,500 kg) of cocaine worth an estimated US$74 million in the Atlantic Ocean from April 12 to 13, the coast guard said via a press release on Monday, April 28.

The coast guard said the seized contraband was the result of an interdiction in international waters in the Atlantic Ocean, and five suspected smugglers remain in US custody pending prosecutorial disposition.

On April 12, Calhoun, under tactical control of Coast Guard Atlantic Area, detected a suspicious fishing vessel in international waters exhibiting behavior consistent with narcotic trafficking approximately 1,265 miles (2,036 kilometres) west of Las Palmas, Canary Islands.

Calhoun's crew launched a cutter small boat and interdicted the suspicious vessel, apprehending five suspected smugglers and seizing approximately 10,000 pounds of cocaine.

The coast guard continues increased operations to interdict, seize and disrupt transshipments of cocaine and other bulk illicit drugs by sea. These drugs fuel and enable cartels and transnational criminal organisations to produce and traffic illegal fentanyl, threatening the United States.

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