U.S. Coast Guard Breaks Record With 49,000 Pound Haul of Cocaine Being Offload at Port Everglades

massive offload stems from 15 interdictions carried out in international water

MIAMI, FLORIDA – The U.S. Coast Guard set a historic benchmark Wednesday after the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Stone offloaded more than 49,000 pounds of cocaine—valued at more than $362 million—at Port Everglades, marking the largest amount of cocaine ever seized by a single cutter in one patrol.

The massive offload stems from 15 interdictions carried out in international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean, an area known as one of the world’s busiest maritime drug corridors.

Capt. Anne O’Connell, commanding officer of Cutter Stone, praised her crew’s performance during the record-breaking deployment.

“This offload demonstrates our increased posture and continued success in the fight against narco-terrorism and transnational criminal organizations,” O’Connell said.

The interdictions were conducted in coordination with multiple assets and agencies, including the Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron Jacksonville, Joint Interagency Task Force–South, and watchstanders from both the Coast Guard Southeast and Southwest Districts.

Roughly 80% of drugs bound for the United States are intercepted at sea, underscoring the importance of maritime enforcement.

Officials say the seizures deliver a significant blow to cartels, stripping criminal networks of more than half a billion dollars in illicit revenue while generating critical intelligence for ongoing investigations linked to Panama Express, a long-running multi-agency operation targeting top-level trafficking organizations.

The record-setting patrol was conducted as part of Operation Pacific Viper, an initiative accelerating counter-drug missions across the Eastern Pacific to stem the flow of cocaine and precursor chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl.

USCGC Stone is one of four Legend-class national security cutters homeported in Charleston, South Carolina, and operates under the U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area Command.

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