Coast Guard brings $338M of seized cocaine to San Diego
By The Associated Press
At Naval Station San Diego on Monday, the crew of the Coast Guard cutter Munro offloaded 20,000 pounds of uncut cocaine seized from known drug-transit zones of the Eastern Pacific Ocean, a haul worth approximately $338 million.
Eight interdictions were made between mid-November and mid-January by crews on board four separate Coast Guard cutters: Munro, Thetis, Resolute and Tampa. The drugs were turned over to the DEA. (John Gibbins/The San Diego Union-Tribune via AP)
SAN DIEGO — The U.S. Coast Guard says nearly 20,000 pounds (9,071 kilograms) of cocaine seized in the eastern Pacific Ocean has been brought to San Diego.
The drug haul estimated to be worth about $338 million was offloaded from the cutter Munro at Naval Base San Diego on Monday morning.
In this Nov. 16 photo provided by the Coast Guard, crew members from the cutter Thetis hoist interdicted drugs seized in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean. (Petty Officer 1st Class Mark Barney/Coast Guard via AP)
The cocaine was seized in eight operations by the crews of four cutters between mid-November and mid-January.
The Coast Guard says the campaign against drug cartels involves numerous U.S. agencies as well as the Navy.
Cutters versus contraband traffickers heading for San Francisco Bay.
By Daniel Laliberte, HistoryNet.com
Navy Times editor’s note: The interdictions AP is talking about fall under Campaign Martillo, a hemispheric effort to target the illicit trafficking of narcotics. The Eastern Pacific Ocean operations are run by the 11th Coast Guard District based in Alameda, California.
Three of the ships participating in this anti-smuggling campaign were medium endurance cutters from the other side of the United States: Thetis (homeported in Key West, Florida); Resolute (St. Petersburg, Florida); and Tampa (Portsmouth, Virginia).
Munro is a 418-foot national security cutter homeported in Alameda.
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