USCG Cutter Returns With $115 Million in Seized Drugs After Caribbean Mission
The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Resolute returned to St. Petersburg, Florida, with a massive haul of seized narcotics, valued at $115 million, following a high-stakes, 38-day mission in the Caribbean.
The crew seized around 9,690 pounds of cocaine and 5,490 pounds of marijuana, effectively disrupting major drug trafficking routes aimed at the U.S.
As part of Joint Interagency Task Force-South (JIATF-South) operations, the mission was to block illegal drug routes across the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Pacific regions, targeting smugglers before they reached U.S. shores.
High-risk interdictions filled the mission, including an intense 40-mile chase of a “go-fast” vessel through six-foot waves, with support from a Dutch aircraft.
During night patrols, the team intercepted a suspicious sailing vessel, uncovering over 1,653 pounds of hidden cocaine and arresting the smugglers, keeping $58 million worth of drugs off U.S. streets.
Working alongside international partners, including the Royal Netherlands Navy, the crew transferred contraband and suspects to U.S. authorities, strengthening anti-drug efforts.
The crew’s duties extended to humanitarian missions, safely intercepting an overloaded vessel with 181 Haitian migrants, who were transferred to the cutter Reliance for care and shelter.
After their mission, the Resolute crew returned to St. Petersburg but were soon redeployed for hurricane relief efforts, joining search and rescue operations alongside other Coast Guard cutters.