Law Enforcement Detachment Team News

Coast Guardsmen on the Coast Guard Cutter Bernard C. Webber offloaded approximately 515 kilograms of cocaine interdicted in the Caribbean Sea as part of Operation Caribbean Venture worth an estimated wholesale value of $17 million at Coast Guard Base Miami Beach, Florida, Friday. On November 15, a Joint Interagency Task Force South maritime patrol aircraft located a suspicious go-fast vessel with multiple packages aboard southeast of Isla Beata, Dominican Republic. The HNLMS Friesland, an offshore patrol vessel from the Royal Netherlands Navy, responded to the report and interdicted the vessel with four suspected smugglers and suspicious packages on deck. A U.S.

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Air and Marine P-3 aircrew operating out of National Air Security Operations Center (NASOC)-Jacksonville, Florida, detected a suspicious vessel carrying more than 1,100 pounds of cocaine with an estimated street value of more than $82.3 million. While patrolling the Pacific Ocean on Nov. 9 during a counter-drug mission, an aircrew aboard a P-3 Airborne Early Warning (AEW) aircraft spotted a high speed vessel moving through an area routinely used by drug smugglers. With the assistance of an additional CBP P-3 Long Range Tracker (LRT), OAM agents coordinated with the U.S. Navy to intercept the vessel. A U.S.

U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment Team (LEDET) 101 embarked and integrated with Sailors on the Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided-missile frigate USS Gary (FFG 51) for training and anti-drug smuggling operations off the California coast, Aug. 26-29. "We are currently supporting counter-smuggling operations by providing law enforcement capabilities to Third Fleet Navy platforms in known drug and migrant transit corridors," said Coast Guard Chief Maritime Enforcement Specialist Chris Sinclair…

The U.S. Coast Guard released its top 11 video compilation for 2009. The public is encouraged to vote online at the Coast Guard's YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/USCGImagery, for their favorite video in the Coast Guard’s best video of 2009 contest. The Coast Guard Compass, http://coastguard.dodlive.mil/, will be highlighting one video per day starting Dec. 21 through Jan. •    The rescue of a paraglider pilot who crashed on the shoreline of Cape Lookout near Tillamook, Ore., by an aircrew from Air Station Astoria, Ore. •    The capture of suspected pirates from a response to a vessel distress signal from Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment Team 409 while operating under Combined Task Force 151. •    A medical evacuation of a crewmember from a U.S.

The Coast Guard Atlantic Area, Navy Second Fleet and the FBI are participating in Exercise Frontier Sentinel June 12-14 approximately 90 nautical miles east of Oregon Inlet, N.C. In particular, the exercise will gauge the effectiveness of inter-service cooperation at the tactical and operational levels. These functions are crucial to the successful implementation of "layered security," a strategy called for in the United States' National Strategy for Maritime Security. In order to test the effectiveness of doctrine and to increase the familiarity with one another and their respective roles, these partners must practice together in as-close-to-realistic scenarios as possible.

The Boston-based Coast Guard Cutter Spencer received orders recently to deploy overseas at the request of the Department of Defense (DOD) to support Operation Enduring Freedom. This deployment is part of the Coast Guard’s longstanding, annual commitment to DOD security cooperation initiatives and fosters continued interoperability between the U.S. Navy and the Coast Guard. The 270-foot medium endurance cutter with a crew of about 100 departs Thursday for the Mediterranean Sea. A seven-man Coast Guard law enforcement detachment team based in Yorktown, Va. will also deploy with Spencer. While patrolling the Mediterranean Sea, CGC Spencer will be engaged in Anti-terrorism, Force Protection and Maritime Interdiction Missions and as needed by the operational commander.