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Eight interdictions were made
between mid-November and mid-January by
the joint efforts of four separate
Coast Guard cutter crews.
- U.S. Coast Guard and
Costa Rican Coast Guard Service
photos -
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- Published:
Wednesday, February 12, 2020 -
The U.S. Coast Guard
offloads
$338 million of cocaine
By the
A.M. Costa Rica staff and wire services
The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Munro
offloaded nearly 20,000 pounds of cocaine
Monday at San Diego, California. The
illegal drugs had been seized from
known transit zones of the Eastern Pacific
Ocean and were estimated at being worth
approximately $338 million.
Eight interdictions were made between
mid-November and mid-January by the joint
efforts of the following four separate
Coast Guard cutter crews:
- Thetis was responsible for two case
seizing 6,830 pounds.
- Resolute was responsible for one case
seizing 1,951 pounds.
- Tampa was responsible for two cases
seizing 4,270 pounds.
- Munro was responsible for three cases
seizing 6,680 pounds.
Numerous U.S. agencies from the
Departments of Defense, Justice and
Homeland Security cooperated in the effort
to combat transnational organized crime.
The Coast Guard, Navy, Customs and Border
Protection, FBI, Drug Enforcement
Administration, Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, and the Panamá Express Strike
Force, along with allied and international
partner agencies, play a role in
counter-drug operations, said the Coast
Guard. The fight against drug cartels in
the Eastern Pacific Ocean requires unity
of effort in all phases from detection,
monitoring and interdictions, to criminal
prosecutions of these cases by U.S.
attorneys in districts within Florida and
Texas, it added.
"By disrupting the profits of these
cartels, we are reducing their
effectiveness and helping our partner
nations maintain their stability," said
Rear Adm. Peter Gautier, the 11th Coast
Guard District commander. "These efforts
also provide invaluable information to us
that we can then use to stop these drugs
further up the supply chain before they
begin these dangerous routes at sea."
These interdictions were in support of
Campaign Martillo, a regional initiative
targeting illicit trafficking that
threatens security and prosperity at the
national, regional, and international
levels.
The law enforcement phase of
counter-smuggling operations in the
Eastern Pacific is conducted under the
authority of the 11th Coast Guard
District, headquartered in Alameda,
California. The interdictions, including
the actual boardings, are led and
conducted by members of the U.S. Coast
Guard.
“The men and women of the United States
Coast Guard have made America a safer
place to live,” said David King, the
director for the High Intensity Drug
Trafficking Area program. “This cocaine
will never make it into our homes, schools
and communities to fuel violent crime,
addiction and death.”
The Thetis is a 270-foot medium endurance
cutter homeported in Key West, Florida.
The Resolute is a 210-foot medium
endurance cutter homeported in St.
Petersburg, Florida. The Tampa is a
270-foot medium endurance cutter
homeported in Portsmouth, Virginia. The
Munro is a 418-foot national security
cutter homeported in Alameda.
In 2019, the Coast Guard Cutter Munro
offloaded more than $500 million worth of
cocaine and marijuana.
In a recent case in Costa Rica, in January
with the support of the U.S. Coast Guard,
the National Coast Guard Service stopped a
boat that officials said was carrying 502
kilos of cocaine.
According to the Ministry of Security, the
operation was carried out by the coast
guards of both countries 118 nautical
miles off Golfito in southern
Puntarenas Province. A ship
bearing the name Choerna was detected.
The Coast Guard detained the crew, two
Colombian men, surnamed Rosero-Cáceres and
Hurtado-Cáceres, and an Ecuadorian man
surnamed Bravo-Mina. The ship carried a
registration plate CP-01 but was without a
flag of the country of origin.
The ship was brought to the port in
Golfito where the Drug Control Police led
a search of the ship's cargo, finding
several containers with fuel, and 502
packages with cocaine, approximately one
kilo each, "which were placed inside cells
inside the ship structure," said the
ministry.
The three suspects were jailed at the
Public Ministry cells, where they were
interrogated by the judicial agents and
after that, a judge of the Criminal Court
of Golfito ordered six months of pre-trial
detention against the three foreigners, as
suspects of international drug traffic.
This was the second time that the U.S.
Coast Guard helped with the capture of
alleged drug traffickers in January.
Jan. 8, the ministry captured an alleged
drug shipment that started with an alert
from a U.S. P3 plane tracking a
semi-submarine, also known as a
narco-submarine, which was sailing 63
nautical miles off the Quepos Beach
in Puntarenas.
P-3 plane is an anti-submarine and
maritime surveillance aircraft. The
four-engine craft is used by the U.S.
Customs and Border Protection for drug
interception and national security.
A narco-submarine is a type of custom-made
ocean-going self-propelled submersible
vessel built by drug traffickers to
smuggle drugs.
According to the ministry, when the
submarine crew members realized just
before midnight, they were being chased
"they threw some bags into the sea."
However, in response to the alert, a Costa
Rican Coast Guard patrol crew managed to
intercept the submarine.
"The semi-submarine was located,
intercepted and grounded along with the
cargo. In addition, the crew was
captured," said the ministry in its
report.
The agents of the Drug Control Police,
carried out a detailed review of the
semi-submarine, finding 300 packages with
cocaine, each of them weighing
approximately one kilogram. Also found was
a package with marijuana, weighing
approximately one kilogram, as well as
money in Colombian pesos and $75.
In an investigation, police identified the
three crew members, all of Ecuadorian
nationality with no criminal record.
The suspects, surnamed Villalta-Jacome,
34, Molina-Betancourt, 21, and
Semisterra-Lugo, 34, were taken to the
cells of the Public Ministry where they
were interrogated by the judicial agents
and after that, a judge ordered six months
of pre-trial jail against them.
In the operation, Costa Rican officers
worked together with the U.S. authorities,
Drug Control police and the National Coast
Guard Service police.
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What could authorities do more in the
fight against drug trafficking? We would like to know your
thoughts on this story. Send your
comments to news@amcostarica.com
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