Tag: smuggling

A U.S. Coast Guard cutter in pursuit of a suspected vessel during a counter-narcotics patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean recovered 4,950 kilos of cocaine valued at over $143 million, Coast Guard officials said Monday, Feb. 26. The interdiction by the Coast Guard cutter Alert, on its last patrol out of its current homeport in Astoria, Ore., is among the Coast Guard’s largest single intersections in the Eastern Pacific and represents a major blow to criminal organizations attempting to smuggle illicit narcotics through the maritime domain, the Guard has said. The mission also serves as the capstone in Alert’s time in the Coast Guard Pacific Area. The Alert is to shift homeport in June to be stationed in Cape Canaveral, Fla. as part of the larger Coast Guard Force Alignment Initiat...

The Coast Guard cutter Alert has returned to its homeport of Astoria, Ore. after a 61-day counternarcotics patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean during which they intercepted a vessel with more than 2,600 kilograms of cocaine valued at some $75 million. Coast Guard officials said in late May that a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Marine Patrol Aircraft crew had notified the Alert of a suspected vessel, prompting the cutter to deploy a helicopter and aircrew, along with a small boat and law enforcement boarding team. The law enforcement phase of counter-smuggling operations in the Eastern Pacific Ocean is conducted under the authority of the 11th Coast Guard District, headquartered in Alameda, Calif. The interdictions, including the actual boardings, are conducted the U.S. Coast ...