The US Coast Guard published a video on July 18, chasing a smuggling boat that was transferring illegal drugs; The USCG members found 2,300 pounds of cocaine. In the video, the suspects are seen throwing some of their cargo in the sea, but the coast guard members manage to shalt the boat before they dispose all of the bales.
The interception of the smuggling drugs was part of 26,000 pounds of illegal drugs the Coast Guard managed to seize in the Eastern Pacific. On Friday, July 26, the Coast Guard returned to the port of San Diego, California and offloaded the drugs onto the pier.
In light of the illegal drug trafficking that takes place in the Eastern Pacific and the Caribbean basin, Rear Adm. Peter Gautier, the 11th Coast Guard District commander, stated
This was 26,000 pounds of cocaine that will not make it to the main streets of the U.S.A, and it also gives us the opportunity to make sure that we can continue to combat transnational criminal organizations that transport this cocaine deep in the Pacific every single day.
Moreover, the Coast Guard has a strong presence in the Eastern Pacific and the Caribbean Basin as are known as the transit zones for cocaine shipments between Colombia and North American market.
Up to now, for the 2019 fiscal year, the Coast Guard has made more than 100 interdictions, seized more than 230,000 pounds of cocaine and detained more than 400 suspected smugglers in the drug transit zones of the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
Concluding, because of the illegal trade and the possibility of smuggling drugs onboard vessels, in early June the local P&I Consultants Pandi Colombia provided precautionary anti-narcotics guidelines for operators who trade in Colombia.
