The cutter USCGC Active returned home on Friday after a counter-narcotics deployment in Central American waters, a U.S. Coast Guard statement on Friday said.
The 55-year-old, 210-foot-long ship seized about 5,650 pounds of cocaine, valued at over $100 million, during two interdictions before arriving at Port Angeles, Wash., its homeport.
The 58-day deployment in the eastern Pacific Ocean also included a stop in San Diego, where confiscated cocaine valued at $220 million was delivered.
The ship's efforts are part of an increase in counter-narcotics operations, begun on April 1 by the U.S. Southern Command and involving the Departments Justice, and Homeland Security, as well as the Coast Guard, Navy, Customs and Border Protection, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agencies.
"This patrol was another superb example of teamwork across the interagency," said Cmdr. James M. O'Mara IV, the ship's commanding officer.
"Beyond our lifelines, interagency and partner nations shared information to develop cases, while U.S. Navy, Customs, and Coast Guard aircraft detected targets of interest. Active's crew leaned forward, operated aggressively, and executed their missions with distinction," O'Mara said.
The USCGC Active was also involved in two search and rescue missions during the deployment, one in which four fishermen were rescued from a stranded vessel and another incident involving a distress call from an injured jet skier, the Coast Guard statement on Friday said.
