Marine Link
Thursday, March 28, 2024
SUBSCRIBE

Drug Enforcement Administration News

05 Mar 2023

Drug Bust Nets $677 Million of Cocaine from Vessel Off Australia

(Photo: Western Australia Police Force)

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…

29 Jan 2023

Spanish Police Seize Cocaine Worth $114 Million from Cattle Ship

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.

08 Sep 2020

US Seizes $27 Mln Found on a Cargo Ship in the Caribbean

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.

22 Feb 2019

Coast Guard, Agencies Eradicate 200,000 Illegal Marijuana Plants

Photo: Coast Guard

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…

05 Feb 2019

USCG Offloads 34,780 Pounds of Cocaine

Photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Brandon Murray 
U.S. Coast Guard District 7

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…

19 Apr 2018

US Coast Guard Offloads $13.3 Mln Drug Haul

(U.S. Coast Guard photo by Ricardo Castrodad)

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…

15 Feb 2018

Coast Guard Offloads 14,000 Pounds of Cocaine in Port Everglades

Photo courtesy of USCG

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.

15 May 2017

Spanish Police Bust Fishing Vessel Hauling 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…

15 Jul 2015

USCG Helps Seize 5,000 lbs of Marijuana

USCG photo

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…

20 Jan 2015

TSA, Coast Guard in AK Pot Discussion

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…

03 Oct 2014

USCG Leaders to Discuss Emerging Challenges

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.

12 Dec 2013

Louisiana Cargo Transfer Terminal Approved

A.G. Crowe

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…

04 Feb 2011

This Day in U.S. Coast Guard History – February 4

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.

03 Feb 2010

This Day in Coast Guard History – Feb. 4

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.

17 Sep 2008

M Ship’s Stiletto Nabs Smugglers

The Pentagon’s high-speed, shallow-draft “Stiletto” ship, designed and built by M Ship Co., LLC, completed a successful 6,000 nautical-mile deployment on a drug interdiction and apprehension mission in the waters off , the and the . The deployment was capped off by a dramatic, high-speed chase of a “go-fast” boat in shallow waters near the coast that resulted in the apprehension of three suspected smugglers. Even though the Stiletto was officially classified as a demonstrator, the Department of Defense post-deployment report is expected to confirm that the revolutionary vessel reduced “illicit trafficking sanctuaries,” and proved its value as an “affordable, high-speed, shallow-draft craft,” according to the author of the report, Capt.

19 Jul 2007

Cummings Laments the Loss of Admiral Owen J. Siler

Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, released the following statement today following the death of former Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Owen J. "Today, I join the Coast Guard in mourning the loss of one of its most influential and respected leaders, former Commandant Admiral Owen J. Siler. Through his relentless dedication, Admiral Siler changed the face of the Coast Guard from one of a search and rescue mission to the modern, multi-mission organization that it is today. "It is with great respect that I commend the Admiral's pivotal efforts to expand the membership of the Coast Guard through the institution of a minority recruitment program and the expansion of opportunities for women.

23 Mar 2007

Deepwater C4ISR Upgrades Contribute to Record Drug Seizure

The U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration have announced the record maritime seizure of more than 42,000 pounds of cocaine by 378-foot Coast Guard Cutters Hamilton and Sherman, both recipients of Deepwater C4ISR upgrades. As part of a two-phased effort, the Deepwater team upgraded communications capabilities on all 39 Coast Guard high- and medium-endurance cutters providing access to a secure data network via SIPRNET, image sharing through faster satellite communications (SATCOM) and improved target identification using Automatic Identification Systems (AIS). The 12 378-ft. cutters also received law enforcement radios allowing them to communicate in a protected environment.