Alameda Coast Guard Cutter Offloads 25 Tons of Seized Cocaine

Some 25 tons of cocaine was offloaded from the Alameda-stationed Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf at the Port of San Diego Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal last week. The haul came from 24 interdictions and two bale recoveries at sea, according to officials.

The operations took place between late July and early November by five Coast Guard Cutters and one Canadian navy vessel with a U.S. Coast Guard law enforcement team aboard. The load is valued at more than $765-million.

“These interdictions -- and the hundreds of millions of dollars, tons of drugs, and many trafficker prosecutions they represent -- help disrupt the violent transnational criminal organizations that threaten the security of the U.S. and the entire western hemisphere,” said Rear Adm. Joseph Servidio, commander of the 11th Coast Guard District.

The largest single seizure during the deployment was 7.5 tons of cocaine discovered aboard a self-propelled semi-submersible vessel intercepted Aug. 31, officials said.

The others ranged from roughly 300 to 2,000 pounds, obtained from 23 drug-running speedboats and two recoveries of abandoned bales.

In fiscal 2015, USCG personnel operating from cutters, Navy ships and international partner-nation vessels seized in excess of 158,000 pounds of cocaine in the Eastern Pacific, more than the totals in 2012, 2013 and 2014 combined, according to the Coast Guard.

During at-sea interdictions in international waters, a suspect vessel is initially located and tracked by allied military or law enforcement aircraft or boats.

The actual interdictions, including the boarding, search, seizures and arrests, are led and conducted by USCG personnel.

-City News Service contributed to this story

Photos, video courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard