Coast Guard Drug Interdiction

Source:    Headquarters Office of Law Enforcement
               District 13 Office of Law Enforcement

District 13 Highlights:

• On Nov. 15, 2000, a boarding team from Coast Guard Station Bellingham, Wash. boarded a 19-foot pleasure craft near Cherry Point, Wash. and seized 120 pounds of marijuana.  Two months prior, Station Bellingham seized 126 pounds of "B.C. Bud" from the pleasure craft Ikea.
   
• On Feb. 21, 2001, the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Osprey boarded the fishing vessel Western Wind and seized more than 5,500 pounds of cocaine.  The Coast Guard cutters Cowslip and Orcas assisted with the seizure.  The seizure and arrest of the five-person Canadian crew was a combined effort of the U.S. and Canadian Coast Guard, as well as Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Canadian Forces, Drug Enforcement Agency and the U.S. Customs Service.
   
• On May 3, 2001, the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Active boarded the fishing vessel Svesda Maru and seized more than 26,000 pounds of cocaine.  The search, which lasted five days, began with a boarding by a Coast Guard law enforcement detachment team from San Diego that was on board a U.S. Navy Guided Missile Frigate from Everett, Wash.  The U.S. Customs Service played an integral role in the seizure.
  (Svesda Maru Press Release)

White House Drug Policy Office and Coast Guard Announce All-Time Record Annual Maritime Cocaine Seizures - October 2, 2001 Release