US Coast Guard cutter seizes US$350 million in drugs during 56-day patrol

The US Coast Guard cutter Steadfast has returned to its homeport of Astoria, Oregon, following a 56-day counter-narcotic patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

The vessel’s crew interdicted five suspected smuggling vessels, including three pangas, a fishing vessel, and a sailboat, and recovered floating bales of contraband yielding more than 10 tonnes of cocaine.

The cocaine, worth an estimated US$350 million, was seized by the combined crews of Steadfast and the cutter Robert Ward during their patrols of international waters off the coasts of Mexico and Central and South America between late June and mid-July.

The nearly 12 tonnes of cocaine seized by Steadfast during the recent patrol were offloaded at the coast guard station in San Diego, California, on Friday, July 26.