bobdina
10-11-2009, 06:41 PM
CG seizes $184m in drugs in Caribbean
Staff report
Posted : Friday Oct 9, 2009 15:31:47 EDT
In the last six weeks, Florida-based Coast Guard units have seized $184 million worth of drugs, about a quarter of the total $725 million confiscated in that area in fiscal 2009.
Coast Guardsmen collected 13,300 pounds of cocaine worth more than $180 million and more than 4,600 of pounds of marijuana worth more than $4 million.
“It’s pretty good. It’s above average,” said Capt. Peter Brown, chief of response operations for the 7th Coast Guard district. The district includes the area from South Carolina south to Central and South America.
A small portion of those seizures happened after the start of the fiscal year, Oct. 1.
Most recently, crew members from the patrol boat Dolphin offloaded about 1,400 pounds of marijuana, with an estimated street value of approximately $1.2 million, on Wednesday at Coast Guard Base Support Unit Miami.
While conducting a routine law enforcement patrol Oct. 4 off the coast of Bimini, Bahamas, crewmembers aboard the Dolphin spotted a suspicious 35-foot vessel with two people aboard, according to the Coast Guard.
The Dolphin crew boarded the vessel and found nearly 1,400 pounds of marijuana. The Coast Guard transferred the marijuana and the vessel to Customs and Border Protection officers in Miami. The two suspects were transferred to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Office of Investigations in Miami.
“This is the second bust for the Dolphin crew in a five-month period,” Lt. Peter Lang, commanding officer of the Dolphin, said in a statement. “I am extremely proud of the crew and the really great job they did. We’re looking forward to getting back out there and continuing our counter narcotics mission.”
The bust happened just one day after approximately 2,500 pounds of marijuana worth $1.6 million were offloaded in Miami from another drug bust by the medium endurance cutter Venturous, which is based in St. Petersburg, Fla.
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/10/coastguard_drugbusts_100909w/
Staff report
Posted : Friday Oct 9, 2009 15:31:47 EDT
In the last six weeks, Florida-based Coast Guard units have seized $184 million worth of drugs, about a quarter of the total $725 million confiscated in that area in fiscal 2009.
Coast Guardsmen collected 13,300 pounds of cocaine worth more than $180 million and more than 4,600 of pounds of marijuana worth more than $4 million.
“It’s pretty good. It’s above average,” said Capt. Peter Brown, chief of response operations for the 7th Coast Guard district. The district includes the area from South Carolina south to Central and South America.
A small portion of those seizures happened after the start of the fiscal year, Oct. 1.
Most recently, crew members from the patrol boat Dolphin offloaded about 1,400 pounds of marijuana, with an estimated street value of approximately $1.2 million, on Wednesday at Coast Guard Base Support Unit Miami.
While conducting a routine law enforcement patrol Oct. 4 off the coast of Bimini, Bahamas, crewmembers aboard the Dolphin spotted a suspicious 35-foot vessel with two people aboard, according to the Coast Guard.
The Dolphin crew boarded the vessel and found nearly 1,400 pounds of marijuana. The Coast Guard transferred the marijuana and the vessel to Customs and Border Protection officers in Miami. The two suspects were transferred to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Office of Investigations in Miami.
“This is the second bust for the Dolphin crew in a five-month period,” Lt. Peter Lang, commanding officer of the Dolphin, said in a statement. “I am extremely proud of the crew and the really great job they did. We’re looking forward to getting back out there and continuing our counter narcotics mission.”
The bust happened just one day after approximately 2,500 pounds of marijuana worth $1.6 million were offloaded in Miami from another drug bust by the medium endurance cutter Venturous, which is based in St. Petersburg, Fla.
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2009/10/coastguard_drugbusts_100909w/