The crew of the US Coast Guard Sentinel-class fast response cutter (FRC) Kathleen Moore offloaded approximately 590 kilograms of marijuana, worth an estimated US$1.1 million, at Coast Guard Base Miami Beach early last week.
The marijuana was interdicted by the coast guard cutter Harriet Lane from a suspected drug-smuggling vessel in the Caribbean Sea.
The seizure comes after US Southern Command began enhanced counter-narcotics operations in the Western Hemisphere on April 1 of this year. In addition to the coast guard, the US Navy, US Customs and Border Protection, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with allied and international partner agencies, have been involved in these enhanced operations.
The law enforcement phase of counter-smuggling operations in the Caribbean Sea is conducted under the authority of the 7th Coast Guard District, headquartered in Miami. The interdictions, including the actual boardings, are led and conducted by members of the coast guard.