JACKSONVILLE: Multiple air and marine units seized nearly 700 pounds of cocaine in the Caribbean Sea, including a P-3 aircraft from Jacksonville.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations and the U.S. Coast Guard thwarted an attempt by drug traffickers to transport more than 680 pounds of the drug on November 1.
A Coast Guard helicopter crew detected a suspicious vessel in international waters. The crew saw cargo being thrown overboard.
A Customs and Border Protection crew on a P-3 aircraft began surveillance of the vessel while other aircraft were dispatched to pursue the suspected smugglers.
The U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crew deployed warning shots after the vessel failed to yield.
A U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement team aboard a Royal Netherlands Navy patrol vessel intercepted the vessel and recovered nine bales of cocaine. Officials detained two people on board.
“Our dedicated CBP P-3 crews and task force partners are truly the best of the best,” said Director of National Air Security Operations Center – Jacksonville Robert Blanchard. “Detections and interdictions aided through the use of real-time advance aerial surveillance systems serve as a potent deterrent to criminal activity out on the high seas.”
In Fiscal Year 2014, CBP’s P-3s operating from Corpus Christi, Texas, and Jacksonville, Florida, flew more than 5,900 hours in support of counter-narcotic missions resulting in 135 cases of suspected smuggling vessels and aircraft.
These events led to the total seizure or disruption of 126,489 pounds of cocaine.
