In an operation straight out of a thriller, the US Coast Guard and British Royal Navy joined forces in an operation last week that culminated in the historic seizure of 1.25 tons of cocaine (1,135 kilos or 2,500 pounds) valued at US$37 million wholesale off the south coast of the Dominican Republic.
As reported, the crew of Royal Fleet Auxiliary Naval Support Ship RFA Wave Knight, along with a US Coast Guard patrol aircraft, forced a speedboat suspected of drug smuggling to stop in international waters south of the Dominican Republic last Wednesday night, 22 January. The presumed drug dealers threw the drugs into the water, but the packets were later recovered by the Coast Guard ship and taken to Florida.
The operation was carried out by the Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF-S), the United States Coast Guard with the support of international partners for fighting illegal drugs in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
This was the first time an armed US Coast Guard helicopter embarked on a foreign flagged military vessel in support of counterdrug operations.
As reported, on 22 January, US Coast Guard HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft detected a 25-foot go-fast boat with four individuals and suspicious packages aboard moving at a high rate of speed. The US Coast Guard launched its helicopter from the British Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) Wave Knight to intercept the suspected drug smugglers.
The Coast Guard helicopter arrived on the scene and fired warning shots in an attempt to get the vessel to stop. The suspected smugglers were observed jettisoning several packages overboard during the pursuit. The helicopter employed airborne use-of-force and disabled the vessel.
The RFA Wave Knight, with a US Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment Team aboard, arrived on scene and detained the four suspected smugglers and recovered 45 bales of cocaine from the water.
“This historic operation is a result of a dedication to improved interoperability and highlights the great success and commitment of our interagency partnerships to stop the illegal flow of narcotics into the United States,” said Rear Admiral Jake Korn, commander of the Coast Guard Seventh District, as reported in Maritime News.
Maritime News said that the four suspected smugglers would be transferred to law enforcement authorities in the US. The seized contraband was transferred from the Coast Guard Cutter Sitkinak to US Drug Enforcement Agency, on Tuesday 27 January at 10am, at Coast Guard Base Miami Beach, Fla.
www.elnuevodiario.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=361036
www.maritime-executive.com/article/Historic-International-Seizure-Nets-37M-in-Cocaine-2014-01-28/
www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/video-news/video-royal-navy-seize-more-than-300-million-of-cocaine-29958460.html