The Coast Guard Cutter Munro (WMSL-755) pulled into San Diego, Calif., on Tuesday and offloaded nearly 15 tons of cocaine that Coast Guard and Navy vessels intercepted from drug-smuggling vessels during recent patrols.
The huge seizure of more than 29,000 pounds of illicit drugs – officials estimate its street value at $335.9 million – was captured during patrols in September and October by Munro, Coast Guard cutters USCGC Vigorous (WMEC-627) and USCGC Hamilton (WMSL-753) and Navy Littoral Combat Ship USS St. Louis (LCS-19), according to the Coast Guard Pacific Area.
Munro’s crew gathered around stacks of palletized and bundled bales of drugs displayed on the vessel’s deck for a press conference alongside an unmanned aerial vehicle used in the counter-narcotics patrols and operations to thwart contraband moved by drug cartels at sea.
“I would put this crew on any mission, anywhere, at any time,” Capt. James O’Mara, Munro’s commander, said in a Coast Guard news release. “They executed everything asked of them with incredible teamwork and persistence, and we are proud of the results. Hats off to all our international and interagency partners – we absolutely cannot do this mission without them.”
This week’s offload wasn’t the 418-foot Legend-class national security cutter’s biggest one this year. In May, Munro offloaded nearly 17 tons of cocaine – that’s worth about $468 million – while patrolling and intercepting drug-smuggling vessels over a month-long period off Mexico, Central and South America.
The Coast Guard remains busy in the eastern Pacific and the Caribbean in the U.S.’s ongoing multi-agency fight against illicit activities and drug-running at sea by cartels that use vessels, drones and submersibles to smuggle illegal drugs and money. In one image released this week, Coast Guard security teams intercepted a low-slung, near-surface vessel powered by what looks like four outboard engines.
“Our partnerships and our collective abilities are vital to the security and prosperity of the hemisphere,” Rear Adm. Joseph Buzzella, the Coast Guard District 11 commander, said in the release. “The Eastern Pacific is a challenging environment – both operationally and logistically. The transit zone is a vast area of ocean to cover, far from home. Despite the challenges, the success of the Munro’s crew highlights the importance of what we do on the high seas.”
O’Mara gave a shout-out to his Alameda, Calif.-based crew and their families.
“Your support keeps us going out there,” he said. “It takes everyone’s head in the game to make these interdictions happen, and we are grateful you have our backs on the home front as we patrol the high seas and do our part to prevent dangerous narcotics from hitting cities around the globe.”
