Coast Guard offloads $185 million in cocaine and marijuana on return from deployment

David Goodhue

The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Mohawk offloaded a huge haul of cocaine and marijuana on Friday at Port Everglades that it and other agencies and service branches seized during a deployment patrolling the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean.

The 13,803 pounds of cocaine and 3,736 pounds of marijuana have a total estimated street value of $185 million, the Coast Guard said in a press release.

U.S. Coast Guard members on the cutter Mohawk stack drugs on the deck at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale Friday, May 10, 2024. The cocaine and marijuana were seized during the Mohawk’s deployment in the Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean.
U.S. Coast Guard members on the cutter Mohawk stack drugs on the deck at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale Friday, May 10, 2024. The cocaine and marijuana were seized during the Mohawk’s deployment in the Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean.

The Mohawk, a ship with a crew of 100 sailors based in Key West, is part of a task force that includes U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations, the U.S. Navy, along with the Royal Netherlands Navy and the Royal British Navy, that patrols the Caribbean and Atlantic for drug smugglers.

As part of this latest deployment, the task force detained 10 people accused of drug smuggling, according to the press release.

One notable case was in March, when U.S. Navy sailors and a detachment of Coast Guard members aboard the guided missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf intercepted a small, semi-submersible boat in the Atlantic, according to a Navy press release.

A Navy helicopter crew spotted the vessel, and a Coast Guard patrol boat was launched to stop the semi-submersible, according to the release.

Coast Guard members who were deployed on the U.S. Navy’s USS Leyte Gulf board a semi-submersible vessel in the Atlantic in March 2024. The vessel had 600 kilograms of cocaine aboard, according to the Navy.
Coast Guard members who were deployed on the U.S. Navy’s USS Leyte Gulf board a semi-submersible vessel in the Atlantic in March 2024. The vessel had 600 kilograms of cocaine aboard, according to the Navy.

The crew found 600 kilos of cocaine aboard, the Navy said.

“Spotting this vessel was like finding a needle in the haystack,” Lt. Cmdr. Travis Lee, Leyte Gulf’s senior aviator, said in a statement. “I’ve been doing this for seven years and not once been able to find and acquire such an asset until now.”

Advertisement