The U.S. Coast Guard recovered more than a ton of suspected marijuana worth over $2.4 million after crews intercepted a suspicious go-fast vessel during a patrol, military officials said.
Crews recovered 47 bales weighing a combined 2,082 pounds along the vessel’s previous route, according to Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF-S).
Four people were detained in connection with the operation, JIATF-S said.
Officials said the seizure happened during a routine patrol after the crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Escanaba detected “a suspicious go-fast vessel” and launched a boat crew to investigate.
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“The vessel stopped without further incident,” JIATF-S said.
During follow-on operations, Coast Guard crews discovered what officials described as a “bale field” along the vessel’s prior track and recovered the suspected marijuana, valued at more than $2.4 million.
“This mission required vigilance, professionalism, and seamless coordination from detection and pursuit to evidence recovery and search-and-rescue support,” JIATF-S said.
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JIATF-S did not specify where the incident took place, but thanked the Coast Guard Cutter Escanaba and Joint Rescue Coordination Center Haiti for their “timely support, search assistance, and coordination throughout the operation.”
The drug seizure comes amid the Trump administration’s ongoing campaign targeting narcotics trafficking networks in the Western Hemisphere.
U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) touted the operation, saying the “bust is another demonstration of the United States’ resolve to stop the flow of dangerous drugs into the homeland.”
This week, SOUTHCOM said it conducted two operations in which U.S. forces intercepted and sank vessels in the Eastern Pacific that the military said were tied to Los Choneros, which it described as a violent narco-terrorist organization.
The U.S. military has also been involved in a monthslong campaign launched by the Trump administration aimed at dismantling cartel-linked trafficking networks, including dozens of strikes in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean targeting vessels it says are connected to “narco-terrorists.”
The latest seizure follows another major Coast Guard drug bust off the coast of Puerto Rico last month.
The Coast Guard intercepted a suspected smuggling boat nearly 50 miles off the coast of the U.S. territory and discovered more than 7,000 pounds of cocaine worth about $54.5 million.
Five people aboard the suspected smuggling vessel wer
