The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Tampa’s crew offloaded approximately 3,825 pounds of cocaine worth more than $28.7 million on Thursday that was the result of two interdictions in international waters in the Eastern Pacific Ocean as part of Operation Pacific Viper.
“This crew’s performance over the last 74 days has been nothing short of phenomenal,” Cmdr. Joshua DiPietro, the cutter’s commanding officer, said. “From qualifying several pilots, tie downs, landing safety officers, and helicopter control officers for aviation operations at the start of the patrol to seizing nearly $45 million in illicit narcotics, their teamwork during complex operations was truly impressive. They met every challenge head-on, working seamlessly with our partner agencies and international allies to disrupt transnational criminal organizations.”
The majority of U.S.-bound drug interdictions, 80 percent, occur at sea, and the Eastern Pacific is a primary corridor for narcotics smuggling from Central and South America. Operation Pacific Viper has accelerated counter-drug operations as part of a broader U.S. strategy to combat narco-terrorism and dismantle transnational criminal organizations.
Operation Pacific Viper launched in August. Since then, the Coast Guard has seized more than 215,000 pounds of cocaine and apprehended 160 suspected narco-traffickers. In February, the Coast Guard seized a record 200,000 pounds of cocaine.