ATLANTIC OCEAN – The U.S. Coast Guard says it seized about 10,000 pounds of cocaine, worth an estimated $74 million, during a bust in international waters. Five suspected smugglers are now in U.S. custody.
According to officials, the seizure happened April 12 when the crew of the Coast Guard cutter Calhoun spotted a suspicious fishing vessel roughly 1,265 miles west of Las Palmas, Canary Islands. The vessel was reportedly displaying behavior consistent with narcotics trafficking when a small boat team from the Calhoun intercepted the vessel and recovered the drugs.
This seizure comes as part of a string of major drug busts by the Coast Guard. In March, the cutter Kimball offloaded more than $214 million worth of cocaine in San Diego after intercepting six suspected smuggling vessels off the coasts of Mexico and Central and South America.
The Coast Guard serves as the nation’s lead federal maritime law enforcement agency, with authority to enforce U.S. and international laws on the high seas and within American waters.
The Calhoun, commissioned in 2024, is the newest of four 418-foot Legend-class national security cutters based in North Charleston, South Carolina. Its primary missions include counter-drug operations and defense readiness.
