Law Enforcement Teams News

Law enforcement teams interdicted about 33 pounds of cocaine on board a Togo-flagged cargo ship in Miami on Monday.U.S. Coast Guard Sector Miami and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations law enforcement teams boarded the 55-meter general cargo vessel La Temperance on the Miami River due to suspected fraudulent mariner credentials. The 55-meter ship has sailed to Miami from Port-de-Paix, Haiti.While on board, the law enforcement teams inspected common spaces on the vessel…

The crew aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Steadfast (WMEC-623) returned home Friday to Astoria after a 60-day counternarcotic patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.While patrolling international waters off the coast of Mexico and Central America, Steadfast’s law enforcement boarding teams intercepted and stopped eight separate vessels suspected of smuggling illicit drugs. The eight boardings resulted in the discovery and seizure of approximately 13,123 pounds of cocaine worth…

The crew aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Steadfast (WMEC-623) returned home Friday to Astoria after a 60-day counternarcotic patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. While patrolling international waters off the coast of Mexico and Central America, Steadfast’s law enforcement boarding teams intercepted and stopped eight separate vessels suspected of smuggling illicit drugs. The eight boardings resulted in the discovery and seizure of approximately 13,123 pounds of cocaine worth more than $200 million wholesale. The 210-foot cutter deployed to the Eastern Pacific Ocean in support of the Joint Interagency Task Force South with the primary mission of detecting and interdicting illegal drug traffickers.

Coast Guard Cutter Tahoma returned Sunday to their homeport of Kittery, Maine after a 55-day patrol conducting operations and training in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank. The crew carried out Living Marine Resources boardings under the guidance of the 1st Coast Guard District. The Tahoma's law enforcement teams conducted boardings of commercial fishing vessels to inspect safety gear and enforce marine resource management to ensure sustainable fisheries in the North Atlantic. On Dec. 1, 2014 the Tahoma's crew assisted the disabled fishing vessel Madison Kate following an engine casualty. The Tahoma's crew put the vessel in tow and safety and transferred it to a Coast Guard Station Brant Point motor life boat.

The Coast Guard and partner agencies seized 11,300 pounds of marijuana before it reached U.S. shores in May, breaking a single-month record set a decade ago. "The Coast Guard and our interagency partners have already interdicted more marijuana near the U.S. maritime border with Mexico in the first two quarters of fiscal year 2012 than it did in all of 2011,” said Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Bob Papp. The record-breaking month started May 6 with the interdiction of approximately 600 pounds of marijuana and hash with an estimated street value of $544,200 off the coast of Miami.

A Miami-based U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment operating as part of Combined Task Force 151 in the Gulf of Aden assisted in the apprehension of 16 suspected pirates in a 24 hour period. The eight-person LEDET 405 team is conducting counter-piracy operations aboard USS Vella Gulf (CG 72) and USS Mahan (DDG 72) as part of a multinational task force in and around the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. "Our role is to augment and train U.S. Navy visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) teams," said Lt.j.g. Greg Ponzi, officer in charge of LEDET 405. On Feb.

The U.S. Coast Guard will stand-up the Deployable Operations Group during an establishment ceremony 7 p.m. Friday at Fort Lesley J. McNair. The Deployable Operations Group aligns all Coast Guard deployable, specialized forces under a single, unified command headed by a Rear Adm. Thomas F. Atkin. The command will provide organized, equipped, and trained forces to Coast Guard and interagency operational and tactical commanders. Deployable specialized forces are comprised of approximately 3,000 Coast Guard personnel from 12 Maritime Safety and Security Teams, the Maritime Security Response Team, two Tactical Law Enforcement Teams, eight Port Security Units, three National Strike Teams and the National Strike Force Coordination Center.

“Everyone remain calm! We are the U.S. Coast Guard and we’re here to conduct a security boarding,” a law-enforcement officer announces as his teams rush aboard an elegant, white cruise ship. The teams: Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Teams from Boston and New Orleans. The vessel: the Spirit of Boston, an upscale, commercial, dinner cruise ship nestled in the heart of metropolitan Boston. This exercise was part of quarterly, week-long training for MSST’s throughout the Coast Guard. The final day of training was held aboard the privately-owned commercial ship. The ship granted the law enforcement team’s access to an authentic environment so they could implement learned tactics in a realistic setting.

Coast Guard Cutter Flyingfish patrols up the Mystic River towards the Tobin Bridge on January 31, after suspicious packages were reported on the Longfellow and Boston University Bridges. A portion of the Charles River, from the Museum of Science to the Boston Harbor locks, was closed. Coast Guard Sector Boston also increased random patrols of ferry terminals and put law enforcement teams aboard some commuter ferries as a precautionary measure. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer Etta Smith.

The Thailand phase of the exercise Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) series officially began June 20 at the Royal Thai Navy’s (RTN) Lam Tien Naval Base Frigate Squadron 2 pier with a look back at the exercise’s unofficial and solemn beginning June 11. On that day, Sailors from the CARAT task group ship USS Salvor (ARS 52) began six days of dive operations on wreckage in the Gulf of Thailand believed to be that of the lost World War II submarine USS Lagarto (SS 371). “U.S. Navy divers from Salvor, along with a Royal Thai Navy diver, were able to visit the wreck, a necessary step toward positive identification, thereby helping us fulfill our commitment to honor our war dead,” Alexander A. Arvizu, deputy chief of mission at the U.S.

The Honolulu-based U.S. Coast Guard cutter Rush arrived in east China's coastal city of Qingdao on Sunday afternoon, kicking off a five-day visit at the invitation of China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS). Rush is the first major Coast Guard vessel to visit China since World War II, according to Capt. Dana Ware, commanding officer of Rush. The ship and its crew were welcomed by Chinese counterparts and local people upon its arrival at the Qingdao Pier. Major General Chen Weiming of the MPS Border Control Department and Vice Admiral Charles D. Wurster of the U.S. Coast Guard addressed the welcoming ceremony. During Rush's stay in Qingdao…