The U.S. Coast Guard will announce record drug seizure rates in San Diego on August 10, as the crew of the Cutter Stratton offloads more than 66,000 pounds of cocaine worth USD 1.01 billion wholesale seized in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
The drugs were seized in 23 separate interdictions by U.S. Coast Guard cutters and Coast Guard law enforcement teams operating from U.S. Navy vessels in known drug transit zones near Central and South America.
As part of the offload, Coast Guardsmen will turn over 21,000 pounds of cocaine seized by the crew of Stratton during the interdiction of two different self-propelled semi-submersibles. Stratton’s July 18 SPSS interdiction is considered the largest in Coast Guard history.
Coast Guard and partner agencies have seized more cocaine in the Eastern Pacific Ocean in the last 10 months than in fiscal years 2012 through 2014 combined.
U.S. and allied forces operating in the Eastern Pacific Ocean near Central and South America have seized more than 119,000 pounds of cocaine worth more than USD 1.8 billion and apprehended more than 215 suspected smugglers.