Seized: $27 million worth of cocaine
While on a law enforcement patrol in the western Caribbean Sea Gallatin’s crew seized 2,200 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated value of $27 million. The crew of Gallatin located a 68-foot fishing vessel in the western Caribbean Sea, April 18, 2013, and launched their response boat. The response boat crew boarded the vessel, locating the cocaine and detaining three suspected smugglers.
A herculean effort
The HC-130 Hercules aircraft is a mainstay of the United States Coast Guard air fleet. The service’s history with the airplane dates back to 1958, and the “Herc” continues to prove itself time and again. Operated by a crew of seven, the Hercules can airdrop life rafts, deliver critical supplies or survey a coastline after a natural disaster. But for the 190 members stationed at Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento, the Hercules does more than just proves itself – it sets the bar for excellence.
Rising threat of drug subs in the Caribbean
Since 1890, anti-narcotic laws and smuggling threats have changed drastically, with transnational crime organizations using varying tactics and techniques including go-fast vessels and semisubmersible vessels to smuggle drugs into the United States.
5 drug busts + 2 months = $135 million of cocaine
What happened when a Coast Guard law enforcement detachment and medium endurance cutter teamed up with a U.S. Navy frigate and Customs and Border Protection? A total of 168 bales of cocaine, worth more than $135 million, never made it [...]
On guard for America: Coast Guard Cutter Diligence
Written by Cmdr. D. Goodwin, commanding officer of Coast Guard Cutter Diligence. If you live on our nation’s coasts, it is likely you have seen a Coast Guard helicopter soaring overhead on a training flight. Or maybe you’ve even seen [...]
1,300 pounds of marijuana, 1 ton of cocaine, 10 migrants & 15 suspects
Co-authored by Lt. Kevin Connell, Coast Guard Cutter Morgenthau. What have you been up to so far this year? Ask this question to any crewmember aboard Coast Guard Cutter Morgenthau and they just might tell you about their interdiction of [...]
Bertholf, Boutwell nab drugs, smugglers on high seas
A month ago today Compass brought you the story of Coast Guard Cutter Waesche’s drug seizure on its inaugural deployment. The rest of the month mirrored Waesche’s success. Case in point: The crews of Coast Guard Cutters Bertholf and Boutwell [...]
First Caribbean drug sub bust
UPDATE: Paragraph three was updated to include Customs and Border Protection’s contributions to the drug interdiction operation, and paragraph five was updated to clarify the SPSS was the first Caribbean interdiction by the U.S. Coast Guard. As America’s lead maritime law [...]
CGC Sherman stops drug “sub”
For decades, the Coast Guard has been America’s first line of defense against drug trafficking on the high seas. Earlier this month, the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Sherman intercepted a self-propelled semi-submersible drug vessel, laden with a cargo of cocaine [...]
Shipmate of the Week – BM2 Ryan Anderson
This is the first post in our new series entitled “Shipmate of the Week” that will highlight contributions of active, reserve, veteran, civilian, auxiliary, and family members of the United States Coast Guard. We look forward to bringing you a [...]
