$44.2 Million in Cocaine Seized and Brought to San Diego: Coast Guard

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — The U.S. Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy intercepted and delivered thousands of pounds of narcotics in San Diego on Thursday, military officials said.

The incident occurred on Sept. 5, about 430 miles southwest of Acapulco, Mexico, the Coast Guard said in a news release Thursday.

According to military officials, members of Her Majesty’s Canadian ship Yellowknife, a Kingston-class coastal defense vessel, and a team from the U.S. Coast Guard were able to seize more than 1,400 kilograms of cocaine, worth $44.2 million.

“I congratulate the entire crew of the Yellowknife on their successful patrol in the Eastern Pacific and thank them for their dedicated service,” said Captain Tim Lavier, Coast Guard District 11 Response Chief. “Deploying a Coast Guard law enforcement team aboard a Canadian Navy vessel to the Eastern Pacific is an important example of the strong relationship we have built with our Canadian partners.”

The Coast Guard reiterated its efforts to prevent drug cartels in the Eastern Pacific through detection, monitoring, interdiction, and criminal prosecution. The Eleventh Coast Guard District, headquartered in Alameda, California, conducts the law enforcement phase of counter-smuggling operations in the Eastern Pacific.