Coast Guard Offloads $51 Million in Cocaine
The Coast Guard Cutter Richard Etheridge crew offloaded
approximately 1,700 kilograms of seized cocaine at Coast Guard Base San Juan
Friday, following the disruption go-fast vessel smuggling attempt by Coast
Guard and British Virgin Islands authorities near Anegada, British Virgin
Islands.
This disruption and seizure is the result of multi-agency
efforts involving the Caribbean Border Interagency Group and the Caribbean
Corridor Strike Force. The seized cocaine has an estimated wholesale value of
approximately $51 million dollars.
During a routine patrol the night of Aug. 27, 2021, the
Coast Guard Cutter Richard Etheridge responded to the sighting of a suspect
go-fast vessel, in waters northeast of the British Virgin Islands. Coast Guard
watchstanders in Sector San Juan directed the launch of a Coast Guard MH-60T
aircraft from Air Station Borinquen to vector cutter Richard Etheridge to the
go-fast vessel’s position.
Additionally, Coast Guard and British Virgin Islands
authorities maintained communication to interdict the suspect go-fast vessel.
As the cutter Richard Etheridge closed in on the go-fast vessel, the smugglers
proceeded to jettison their cargo and flee the area at high speed. Afterwards,
the Coast Guard helicopter crew proceeded to assist cutter Richard Etheridge in
locating the jettisoned cargo. In total, the crew of cutter Richard Etheridge
recovered 57 bales, which tested positive for cocaine.
“Despite the challenging sea state conditions and thanks to
the close collaboration and coordination with our Royal Virgin Islands Police
partners, our crews did an outstanding job in disrupting a major shipment of
cocaine and keeping it from ever reaching the streets,” said Capt. Gregory H.
Magee, Sector San Juan commander. “Our strong partnerships, as in the case of
the British Virgin Islands and island nations throughout our area of
responsibility, are key to achieving safe and secure maritime borders from drug
trafficking and other smuggling threats in the Eastern Caribbean.”
“This is a great example of the close working relationship
between the U.S. and the UK overseas territories,” said Detective Inspector
Mike Jones, Head of Intelligence for the Royal Virgin Islands Police. “The
excellent work of the U.S. Coast Guard forced the crew of the go-fast vessel to
jettison their cargo. We will continue to work closely with all agencies and
partners in order to disrupt and detect the movement of narcotics, illegal
money and people trafficking.”
Cutter Richard Etheridge is a 154-foot fast response cutter
homeported in Miami.
CBIG was formally created to unify efforts of the U.S.
Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of
Puerto Rico, and Puerto Rico Police Joint Forces of Rapid Action (FURA, for its
Spanish acronym), in their common goal of securing the maritime borders of
Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands against illegal migrant and drug
smuggling threats. The Drug Enforcement Administration and Federal Bureau of
Investigations are also integral partners of the CBIG.
The CCSF is an initiative of the U.S. Attorney’s Office
created to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations operating
in the Caribbean. CCSF is part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task
Force (OCDETF) that investigates South American-based drug trafficking
organizations responsible for the movement of multi-kilogram quantities of
narcotics using the Caribbean as a transshipment point for further distribution
to the United States. The initiative is composed of HSI, the Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA), the Coast Guard, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the
District of Puerto Rico and Puerto Rico Police Department’s (PRPD) Joint Forces
for Rapid Action.
Comments
Post a Comment