The U.S. Coast Guard seized over $223 million worth of cocaine and marijuana this past week, shortly before it all was offloaded in San Diego.
As Fox 5 reports, the Coast Guard Cutter Kimball, Coast Guard Cutter Legare, and Coast Guard Cutter Spencer—along with Canadian ship, Her Majesty Canadian Ship Yellowknife—all worked together to seize the drugs in international waters via the Pacific Ocean. U.S Coast Guards Public Affairs Officer shared that the drugs represent “eight interdictions of suspected drug smuggling vessels between February and March of 2022.”
“To all who are involved, in the dangerous and illegal drug trafficking business, you cannot hide your crimes on the high seas,” Randy Grossman, U.S District Attorney for the Southern California Region, said. “Whether you are a kingpin or a crew member, you are on our radar, and it is just a matter of time before you are caught and brought to justice.”
The drugs, which were sent to the DEA to later be destroyed, was the first offload in San Diego this year, and marked a medium load in comparison to earlier seizures. As NBC 7 shares, the drugs were made up of 11,300 pounds of cocaine and 4,076 pounds of marijuana, all of which were seized in eight interdictions. Kimball commander Capt. Thomas D’Arcy said 15 people were detained as the drugs were being seized.
“Illicit drugs cost our country nearly $200 billion every year in crime, health, safety and lost productivity,” Michael McAllister, Coast Guard Pacific area commander, said. “But it’s not just about keeping drugs off the streets of our country,” he said. “Our combined operations provide important contributions to regional stability in Central and South America, and very broad security implications all along our southwest border.”
