MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Thetis’ crew offloaded more than $99 million in illegal narcotics at Base Miami Beach, Friday.
Coast Guard and partner agency crews seized approximately 5,237 pounds of cocaine in the Caribbean Sea, according to a press release.
The drugs were reportedly seized in the international waters of the Caribbean Sea by crews from Coast Guard Cutter Donald Horsley, His Netherlands Majesty’s Ship Friesland and His Netherlands Majesty’s Ship Groningen.
“Interdicting drug traffickers on the open ocean is challenging work and every interdiction is complex and unique,” said Cmdr. Justin Nadolny, commanding officer of Thetis.
During at-sea busts, a suspect vessel is monitored by law enforcement personnel coordinated by the Joint Interagency Task Force-South based in Key West, Florida, a Coast Guard statement said.
The law enforcement phase of operations in the Caribbean Sea is conducted under the authority of the Seventh Coast Guard District, headquartered in Miami. The seizures, including the actual boardings, are led and conducted by members of the U.S. Coast Guard, the statement continued.
The Thetis, a 270-foot Famous-class medium endurance cutter, is homeported in Key West and patrols the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, performing counter-drug operations, migrant interdiction operations, search and rescue and fisheries enforcement.
