U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Vigilant Returns Home to Port Canaveral, Offloads $18.5 Million in Contraband

1,510 pounds of cocaine and 1,470 pounds of marijuana were offloaded

U.S. COAST GUARD – The crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Vigilant returned home to Cape Canaveral, on Saturday, after offloading more than 1,510 pounds of cocaine and 1,470 pounds of marijuana with a combined value of approximately $18.5 million in Port Everglades.

During the Vigilant’s 54-day patrol, Coast Guard crews, working alongside interagency and international partners, seized the illegal drugs in the international waters of the Caribbean Sea during two separate interdictions.

The following assets and crews were involved in the interdictions:

■ Royal Netherlands Navy ship HNLMS Holland (P 840)

■ U.S. Coast Guard Tactical Law Enforcement Team South (TACLET-South)

■ U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Vigilant (WMEC 617)

■ U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations (CBP-AMO)

■ Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF-South)

Along with the illicit narcotics, 15 suspected smugglers were apprehended and will face prosecution in federal courts by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The crew also support Operation Vigilant Sentry and rescued or assisted more than 40 people in the Caribbean before and after Hurricane Milton.

“This was another exceptional patrol highlighting the versatility of our cutter and crew conducting search and rescue, migrant interdiction, and counter-narcotic operations,” said Cmdr. Jon Potterton, commanding officer of Vigilant.

“We are proud to work seamlessly with partner nations, partner agencies, and other Coast Guard assets to keep drugs off the streets and rescue people in distress during a very busy hurricane season. We look forward to returning to our community and families and celebrating Cutter Vigilant’s 60 years of service.”

Homeland Security Taskforce – Southeast serves as the DHS lead for operational and tactical planning, command and control, and as a standing organization to deter, mitigate, and respond to maritime mass migration in the Caribbean Sea and the Straits of Florida. HSTF-SE is the supported DHS entity for Caribbean maritime migration operations, and HSTF-SE partners include federal, state and local agencies.

Detecting and interdicting illicit drug traffickers on the high seas involves significant interagency and international coordination.

The Joint Interagency Task Force South in Key West, Florida conducts the detection and monitoring of aerial and maritime transit of illegal drugs. Once interdiction becomes imminent, the law enforcement phase of the operation begins, and control of the operation shifts to the U.S. Coast Guard throughout the interdiction and apprehension.

Interdictions in the Caribbean Sea are performed by members of the U.S. Coast Guard under the authority and control of the Coast Guard’s Seventh District, headquartered in Miami.

Vigilant is a 210-foot Reliance-class medium endurance cutter.

The cutter’s primary missions are search and rescue, counter drug operations, migrant interdiction, and enforcement of federal fishery in support of U.S. Coast Guard operations. The medium endurance cutter is under the command of the U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area.

Based in Portsmouth, Virginia, U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area oversees all Coast Guard operations east of the Rocky Mountains to the Arabian Gulf. In addition to surge operations, Atlantic Area also allocates ships to deploy to the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific to combat transnational organized crime and illicit maritime activity.

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