Royal Canadian Navy and US Coast Guard seize nearly US$70 million worth of cocaine in Eastern Pacific

US Coast Guard (USCG) and Royal Canadian Navy crews offloaded more than 2,300 kilograms of seized cocaine worth nearly US$70 million wholesale on Friday, December 7, in San Diego.

This followed a 49-day counterdrug patrol in the Eastern Pacific by the coastal defence vessel HMCS Edmonton and an embedded USCG law enforcement detachment on board.

The cocaine was seized in international waters off the coast of Central and South America.

The crew of Edmonton with the ship’s embedded USCG law enforcement detachment stopped two go-fast boats, resulting in the seizure of more than 1,500 kilograms of cocaine worth almost US$50 million. The crews also recovered an additional 725 kilograms of cocaine from the Eastern Pacific Ocean during the patrol.