Days after crew member went missing, US Coast Guard ship unloads $275M worth of cocaine
A US Coast Guard ship that lost a crew member while operating in the Eastern Pacific unloaded more than 37,000 pounds of cocaine on Thursday, according to US authorities.
The US Coast Guard ship Vage was stationed in the Eastern Pacific from December to February, interdicting vessels suspected of smuggling drugs off the coasts of Mexico, Central America and South America. The Coast Guard said there is “significant drug trafficking” in the region.
The ship conducted 11 such interdiction operations during its two-month deployment, seizing large quantities of drugs. The Coast Guard said in a press release that the value of the cocaine was estimated to be more than $275 million.
“The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Waesche faced many challenges during this patrol and overcame the most difficult obstacles to successfully make 11 drug seizures,” said Cutter Tyson Schofield, commanding officer of the Coast Guard Cutter Waesche, in a news release announcing the arrests. “It was their dedication, strength of character and tenacity that ensured the success of our mission, preventing over $275 million worth of illegal drugs from entering the United States and protecting our communities from the devastating effects of transnational crime.”
The Coast Guard has confirmed that a crew member on duty, named Brian K., was reported missing. Mr. Lee received the email on Tuesday, February 4, a week before the ship was scheduled to arrive in San Diego. The Waesche crew and other response equipment, including several Air Force aircraft, two Mexican Navy vessels and a drone, searched more than 19,000 square nautical miles of water for a total of nearly 190 hours before suspending the search on Saturday, February 8.
The Coast Guard said in a news release that the vessel was conducting a routine counter-narcotics patrol about 300 nautical miles south of Mexico when Lee disappeared. He pulled up from his patrol car looking for me.
The Coast Guard said counter-narcotics patrols are part of a multi-agency effort to combat organized crime and drug trafficking. Stopping the flow of drugs through the Eastern Pacific “requires a concerted effort at every level, from detection, surveillance and interdiction to criminal prosecution by international partners and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the country,” the Coast Guard said.
