Drug Enforcement Administration News

Spanish police have made their largest-ever cocaine seizure on the high seas, intercepting a vessel carrying almost 10 metric tons of the drug concealed in a shipment of salt en route from Brazil to Europe, police said on Monday.The operation led to the arrest of 13 people on board. The vessel, which ended up running out of fuel, had to be towed to port by coastguards in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, police said in a statement.Officers recovered 294 bales of the drug…

The United States on Thursday issued new sanctions targeting Venezuela, imposing curbs on three nephews of President Nicolas Maduro's wife, as well as six crude oil tankers and shipping companies linked to them, as Washington ramps up pressure on Caracas.The action came as the U.S. executes a large-scale military buildup in the southern Caribbean and as U.S. President Donald Trump campaigns for Maduro's ouster. On Wednesday, Trump said the U.S. had seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.The U.S.

Nigeria's anti-narcotics agency is working with its U.S. and British counterparts to investigate the origins of a $235 million cocaine shipment seized at Lagos' Tincan Port, in one of the country's largest drug hauls.The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said in a statement on Tuesday that 1,000 kg of cocaine was discovered in an empty container at a terminal over the weekend. Terminal operators alerted the NDLEA and other port security agencies, which jointly examined…

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and the top U.S. general Dan Caine made a surprise visit to Puerto Rico on Monday, the first trip there by senior Pentagon officials since the start of a military buildup in the Caribbean that has escalated tensions with Venezuela.Hegseth and Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were seen being received by Puerto Rico's governor, Jenniffer Gonzalez, in photographs she posted to social media site X.U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered the Department of Defense to rename itself the Department of War, a change that will require action by Congress.

Greek police have dismantled a gang that had been hiding cocaine in sheets of leather that were smuggled from Bolivia to Greece on container ships, police officials said on Friday.They said the method used by the gang signalled a shift in methods for smuggling the drug from South America to Europe.Eleven people have been arrested so far, including nationals form Bolivia and Spain, after police monitored the suspects for months following a tip-off by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration…

A Greek appeals court on Friday reduced the prison sentences of 11 men involved in trafficking 1.2 metric tons of cocaine from the Caribbean into Europe and Africa, in one of the biggest drug busts in Greece's history.Greek police said in 2020 it had dismantled the criminal group after a months-long investigation with assistance from the United States' Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Albanian and Spanish police.A court in 2021 had handed the defendants, nationals of Albania, the Netherlands and Greece, multi-year sentences including life imprisonment.

The U.S. Coast Guard and the Royal Canadian Navy offloaded $44.2 million worth of cocaine in San Diego, last week.The crew aboard Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship Yellowknife (HMCS-706) and a U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment team interdicted more than 3,100 lbs. of cocaine approximately 430 miles southwest of Acapulco, Mexico, September 5.Capt. Tim Lavier, Eleventh Coast Guard District chief of response, said, “Deploying a Coast Guard law enforcement team aboard a Canadian…

In a major drug bust, the crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Napier transferred 79 kilograms of cocaine and nine suspects to federal authorities in Puerto Rico on Monday. The contraband, with an estimated wholesale value of $829,000, was seized as part of an extensive multi-agency operation.The interdiction, which involved the Coast Guard’s Western Hemisphere Strategy, the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force Initiative, and Operation Unified Resolve, highlights ongoing efforts to combat drug trafficking in the region.

Greek authorities confiscated more than 109 kg (240 pounds) of cocaine hidden in a container with frozen squid aboard a vessel inspected at the port of Piraeus, police sources said on Tuesday.The container was shipped from Peru and its destination was Croatia, one of the officials said.South American production of cocaine has surged over the past decade and Balkan traffickers have helped turn Europe into the world’s No. 1 cocaine market.Greece last week said it had dismantled an international criminal group trafficking cocaine in shipping containers from Latin America to Europe…

A joint U.S. and Australian law enforcement operation busted an international drug ring after intercepting 2.4 tonnes of cocaine aboard a vessel off the coast of South America that had been bound for Australia.The cocaine, linked to a Mexican drug cartel, had a street value of around A$1 billion ($677 million), and was equivalent to half of Australia's estimated annual consumption, making the seizure one of the biggest that Australian police have been involved in.Twelve suspects have been arrested and charged in the case…

Spanish police seized 4.5 tonnes of cocaine with an estimated street value of 105 million euros ($114 million) after raiding a cattle ship off the Canary Islands earlier this week, a statement said on Saturday.The ship had stopped at ports in about a dozen countries before Tuesday's raid, and police said drug smugglers had started using livestock ships because it was more difficult for police to trace their illicit cargo."International organisations are reinventing themselves to transport drugs from Latin America to Europe, using livestock to make the control and localisation more difficult," the Spanish police statement said.Police arrested 28 crew members on the Togo-flagged Orion V, which had been trailed from Colombia in an operation by Spanish authorities, the U.S.

U.S. authorities in San Juan, Puerto Rico seized $27 million of undeclared currency found inside boxes aboard a cargo ship bound for St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized the vacuum-sealed cash packs on board the vessel Norma H II during a joint investigation between CBP, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico on Saturday, officials said.CBP said one of its K-9 units discovered the cash in unmanifested palleted home moving boxes while inspecting outbound cargo on board the Togo-flagged vessel at Pier 10 in San Juan. A total of 34 cargo boxes containing $27 million was seized under failure to declare and bulk cash smuggling laws.

The Coast Guard, Drug Enforcement Administration and Bahamian authorities eradicated more than 200,000 illegal marijuana plants in the Bahamas.On Wednesday Feb. 6, 2019, a Coast Guard forward deployed MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Operation Bahamas, Turks & Caicos (OPBAT) recognized what appeared to be a strong smell of marijuana while flying over Andros Island on a joint narcotic interdiction patrol. The Coast Guard helicopter transported United States DEA agents and Royal Bahamas Police Force Officers from the Drug Enforcement Unit to the area to identify and eradicate over 200…

The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Forward (WMEC-911) offloaded approximately 34,780 pounds of cocaine Tuesday in Port Everglades worth an estimated $466 million wholesale seized in international waters in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.The drugs were interdicted off the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America and represent 21 separate, suspected drug smuggling vessel interdictions by the U.S. Coast Guard:The cutter Forward was responsible for eight cases seizing an estimated 14…

The U.S. Coast Guard offloaded $13.3 million worth of suspected heroin and cocaine and transferred custody of two suspected smugglers to authorities in San Juan Tuesday, following a recent interdiction in the Caribbean Sea off Puerto Rico.The crew of a patrolling Customs and Border Protection Caribbean Air and Marine Branch (CAMB) maritime patrol aircraft initially detected a 30-foot go-fast vessel Saturday afternoon transiting with two people onboard and visible packages on deck south of Patillas…

The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton is scheduled to offload approximately 7 tons of cocaine Tuesday in Port Everglades worth an estimated $190 million wholesale seized in international waters in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. The drugs were interdicted off the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America by multiple U.S. Coast Guard cutters. The cutter Hamilton was responsible for two cases, seizing an estimated 1,931 kilograms of cocaine. The Coast Guard Cutter Northland was responsible for two cases, seizing an estimated 2,871 kilograms of cocaine.

Spanish police seized more than two tons of cocaine from a ship with a Venezuelan flag in the Atlantic Ocean and arrested the seven crew members, Spain's interior ministry said on Monday. The operation, carried out alongside the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the UK's National Crime Agency and Portuguese police, took place earlier this month, on May 4. The seven people on board were Venezuelan nationals, the ministry said, adding that a gun had also been seized alongside 2400 kg of cocaine. The vessel, a small, rusted fishing boat according to images distributed by police, has since been towed to Spain's Canary Islands. Separately…

A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crew, working under the direction of Operation Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, assisted in the seizure of 5,050 pounds of marijuana worth an estimated wholesale value of $4.6 million Wednesday. While on routine patrol, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection maritime patrol aircraft located a 35-foot go-fast vessel transiting at a high rate of speed without navigation lights. A Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, Florida, MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew and…

1859- U.S. signs "Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation" with Paraguay at Asuncion after the revenue cutter Harriet Lane, as part of a US Navy expedition, forced the opening of the Paraguay and Parana Rivers. 1863-  Commissioned officers of the Revenue Cutter Service were to be appointed by the President by and with advice and consent of the Senate. This act contained the first statutory use of term "Revenue Cutter Service."  Previous laws referred only to "revenue cutters". 1982- Attorney General William Smith declared at a press conference that Operation Tiburon was "the most successful international marijuana interdiction effort to date."  The operation began in November, 1980, and accounted for the seizure of 95 vessels.

U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Paul Zukunft and U.S. Southern Command Commander Gen. John Kelly will host a program titled “Emerging Challenges in the Western Hemisphere” at the Abraham Lincoln Hall Auditorium at Fort Lesley J. McNair on Oct. 7, 2014, at 1 pm. The recently signed Coast Guard Western Hemisphere Strategy addresses transnational threats and maritime challenges that threaten the security of our Nation, markets, and oceans over the next 10 years. Michael Miklaucic of the Institute for National Strategic Studies will moderate a discussion between Adm. Zukunft and Gen. Kelly. Michael Braun - Managing Partner, SGI Global, LLC, and Former Chief of Operations, U.S. Celina Realuyo - Professor of Practice, William J.

Approval clears way to create nation’s largest deepwater containerized cargo transfer terminal, enhancing U.S. competitiveness as Panama Canal expands. Transshipment facility off Louisiana coast intended to improve America’s strained shipping infrastructure, streamline international trade flow and create long-term jobs in 32 states. Louisiana State Senator A.G. Crowe’s vision of making America more competitive and capitalizing on the Gulf of Mexico’s deep-water resources has taken…

1859- U.S. signs "Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation" with Paraguay at Asuncion after the revenue cutter Harriet Lane, as part of a US Navy expedition, forced the opening of the Paraguay and Parana Rivers. 1863-  Commissioned officers of the Revenue Cutter Service were to be appointed by the President by and with advice and consent of the Senate. This act contained the first statutory use of term "Revenue Cutter Service."  Previous laws referred only to "revenue cutters". 1982- Attorney General William Smith declared at a press conference that Operation Tiburon was "the most successful international marijuana interdiction effort to date."  The operation began in November, 1980, and accounted for the seizure of 95 vessels.

Presiding over busy waterways and airspace that serve as unofficial highways of an inhospitable state twice the size of Texas, the federal government has a looming presence over Alaska and its famously live-and-let-live residents. And Uncle Sam considers marijuana illegal over every inch. This poses unique hurdles for entrepreneurs hoping to capitalize on an Alaska move to legalize recreational marijuana, and who seek to grow and process products to be marketed across the state, much of which is accessible only via transport links policed by U.S. agencies and governed by federal law. To get around such obstacles, some investors say they plan to launch location-specific seed-to-sale businesses…