A U.S. Coast Guard ship seized more than 20,000 pounds of cocaine from a single ship this week, making the largest at-sea interdiction in nearly 20 years, officials said.
The Coast Guard said the crew of the Munro, a cutter that patrols the Pacific and is based in Alameda, California, made the seizure during “counter-narcotics operations” in the Eastern Pacific. The incident was part of Operation Pacific Viper, an effort by the Trump Administration to stop the flow of illicit drugs through the Pacific Ocean.
Video shows Coast Guard vehicles pursuing a go-fast vessel that appears to have multiple people aboard. A helicopter crew disabled the “non-compliant” vessel, the agency said. The Munro then arrived on scene to seize the drugs.
The Coast Guard did not say what happened to the people who appeared to be aboard the vessel.
“Our maritime fighting force is leading America’s drug interdiction operations, protecting the Homeland, and keeping deadly drugs out of American communities,” the Coast Guard said in a post on social media, alongside a video clip.
Authorities have long fought to intercept boats carrying drugs from Central and South America. The Trump administration has targeted some vessels with lethal strikes, killing dozens and drawing controversy. Some have questioned their legality, especially after a second strike was conducted on survivors of an incident on September 2. The Trump administration has defended the strikes.
Colombian authorities seized more than 7 tons of cocaine from boats in the Caribbean earlier this week, the country’s navy said on social media. The drugs were valued at more than $340 million, and 11 people were taken into custody, the navy said in a separate statement.