The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Escanaba offloaded on Monday approximately 7,250 pounds of cocaine and 2,082 pounds of marijuana, worth an estimated $57 million, at Port Everglades.
Coast Guard Cutter Escanaba is a 270-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in Portsmouth, Va. It, along with Coast Guard Cutter Richard Dixon conducted two interdictions in the Caribbean Sea with an embarked Coast Guard law enforcement detachment. Other crews involved were Homeland Security Cutter-Ocean, Coast Guard Southeast District watchstanders, Joint Interagency Task Force South and U.S. Coast Guard Tactical Law Enforcement Team – Pacific, LEDET 101.
“The excellent watchstanding and quick, crucial decisions enabled success in this interdiction,” Petty Officer 1st Class Douglas Strong, a boatswain’s mate assigned to Escanaba, said. “A complete ship-wide evolution must go flawlessly for an interdiction like this to happen. It was a textbook team effort that ensured over 2,000 pounds of illicit narcotics never made it into our communities. Thanks to the crews of Coast Guard Cutter Richard Dixon and Homeland Security Cutter-Ocean for their partnership – one team one fight.”
Interdictions in the Caribbean Sea are performed by U.S. Coast Guard members under the authority and control of the Coast Guard Southeast District which is headquartered in Miami.