Coast Guard Intercepts Cocaine Valued At $25 Million
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PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. — The crew of the 210-foot Coast Guard Cutter Confidence
returned to homeport in Port Canaveral Monday morning, concluding a
56-day deployment in the southern Caribbean during which the crew
interdicted an estimated $25 million worth of drugs.
The cutter and crew departed Port Canaveral Nov. 28, 2012, to conduct
a counter-drug law enforcement patrol under Joint Interagency Task
Force South.
While underway, the crew of the Confidence in conjunction with the Coast Guard Cutter Forward, homeported in Portsmouth, Va., and a Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron
aircraft deployed out of Jacksonville, Fla., successfully disrupted two
go-fast vessels in the southern Caribbean. Both vessels were found
transiting northbound at a high rate of speed, and HITRON exercised
Airborne Use of Force to disable their engines. The combined effort from
all three units resulted in the apprehension of eight suspected
smugglers and 660 kilograms of cocaine worth an estimated street value
of more than $14 million.
One month later, the crews of the Confidence, Forward and HITRON
executed another drug interdiction. The three units coordinated to stop a
go-fast vessel transiting from Columbia to Honduras. The Confidence
crew positioned the cutter to launch its embarked HITRON who again used
Airborne Use of Force to disable the go fast’s engines. The Forward crew
then boarded the vessel and apprehended four suspected drug smugglers
and 425 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated street value of more than
$11 million.
"The ability of these two cutter crews and the helicopter squadron to
seamlessly integrate and execute this interdiction in the dead of night
is a testament to their hard work, professionalism and relentless
training regimen," said Confidence's Commanding Officer, Cmdr. Jim
Passarelli.
The coordinated effort between all three units under the direction of
Joint Interagency Task Force South resulted in the total disruption of
1,085 kilograms of cocaine worth an estimated street value of $25
million. The interdictions were carried out as part of Operation
Martillo, which is one component in the United States government's
whole-of-government approach to countering the use of the Central
American littorals as transshipment routes for illicit drugs, weapons,
and cash. Operation Martillo is an international operation focused on
sharing information and bringing together air, land, and maritime assets
from the U.S. Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland
Security, and Western Hemisphere and European partner nation agencies to
counter illicit trafficking. Overall coordination of the counter-drug
mission in the Caribbean is done by the Joint Interagency Task Force
South, headquartered in Key West, Fla.
The Confidence crew primarily conducts counter-drug and alien migrant interdiction patrols in the Caribbean.
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