$54 Million Worth of Cocaine Seized in the Caribbean Sea

September 11, 2024

Crew members form U.S. Coast Guard Tactical Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) 111 and British Royal Navy team embarked aboard HMS Trent (P244) interdicts a semi-submersible drug smuggling vessel in the international waters of the Caribbean Sea, Aug. 26, 2024. Three suspected smugglers and 1,239 pounds of illegal narcotics from this interdiction were transferred to federal custody for prosecution by the U.S. Department of Justice. (Courtesy image from United Kingdom Royal Navy)

The U.S. Coast Guard worked alongside international partners to seize tens of millions of dollars worth of cocaine from drug smugglers in the Caribbean Sea.

The Coast Guard said its cutter Diligence offloaded more than 4,125 pounds of cocaine, worth an assessed street value of approximately $54 million, in Port Everglades, Fla. on Monday.

The illegal narcotics were seized in international waters during three separate interdictions, involving U.K. Royal Navy ship HMS Trent (P 244), U.S. Coast Guard Tactical Law Enforcement Team Pacific (PAC-TACLET), U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Napier (WPC 1115), U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations (CBP-AMO), Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF-South).

Additionally, 11 suspected smugglers were apprehended and will face prosecution in federal courts by the U.S. Department of Justice.

“I am extremely proud of our crew's tenacity and professionalism, coupled with outstanding coordination with Coast Guard aircrews, during this complex counter-drug mission,” said Lt. Matthew Carmine, Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Napier commanding officer. “Their steadfast efforts, along with those of foreign allies and partner agencies, continue to prove vital to countering drug trafficking organizations and safeguarding the people of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.”

Detecting and intercepting illegal drug traffickers at sea requires extensive coordination between various agencies and international partners. In Key West, Fla., the Joint Interagency Task Force South is responsible for monitoring aerial and maritime drug transit, and when interception is imminent, control of the operation transitions to the U.S. Coast Guard, which manages the interdiction and apprehension phases. In the Caribbean Sea, these operations are carried out by the U.S. Coast Guard under the Seventh District's oversight, based in Miami.

These efforts are part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces' (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiatives, which focus on identifying, disrupting, and dismantling major criminal networks threatening the U.S. through a coordinated, intelligence-driven approach led by prosecutors and multiple agencies.