US Coast Guard offloads nearly US$65M in illicit narcotics interdicted in the Caribbean Sea

ST PETERSBURG, CMC – The United States Coast Guard says the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Diligence earlier this week offloaded approximately 8,700 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated US$64.5 million, some of which was seized off the coast of Jamaica, at Coast Guard Sector St Petersburg, Florida.

The Diligence is deployed in support of Joint Interagency Task Force – South (JITF-S) to the Coast Guard District Southeast area of responsibility, where crew members interdicted more than 10,000 pounds of illicit narcotics, the US Coast Guard said.

“I am remarkably proud of the crew and appreciative of the efforts of JITF-S and Coast Guard District Southeast,” said Commander Colin McKee, commanding officer Diligence.

“This joint effort helped us prevent more than four tons of illegal drugs from entering the United States,” he added. “While this offload marks another milestone in our efforts to counter narco-terrorism, the Coast Guard remains relentless in our operations to control, secure, and defend US borders and maritime approaches.”

The US Coast Guard said the seized contraband was a result of two interdictions in the Caribbean Sea.

On August 7, it said Diligence’s crew detected and boarded a suspicious go-fast vessel approximately 136 miles southwest of Negril, Jamaica.

The US Coast Guard said Diligence’s boarding team interdicted the vessel, seizing 1,500 pounds of marijuana.

The contraband was transferred to and offloaded by Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton, as part of the largest quantity of drugs offloaded in Coast Guard history, in Port Everglades, Florida, on August 25.

It was also disclosed that on September 6, a maritime patrol craft spotted a suspicious go-fast vessel approximately 240 miles north of Panama.

Diligence’s boarding team interdicted the vessel, seizing more than 8,700 pounds of cocaine. The cocaine was also offloaded by Diligence’s crew and transferred to case agents in St Petersburg.

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