U.S. Coast Guard Delivers $115M in Cocaine to St. Petersburg

 

On Wednesday, the crew of the 58-year-old cutter Resolute offloaded nearly 4.4 tonnes of cocaine in St. Petersburg, Florida. Along with the drugs, the crew brought five suspects to face justice in U.S. courts. 

The $115 million haul came from two enforcement vessels, Resolute and the Royal Netherlands Navy's HNLMS Holland. For her part, Resolute carried out two busts over the course of a 38-day patrol in the Caribbean. In the first, Resolute's crew spotted a go-fast vessel and launched small-boat crews to pursue it. They chased it across open water in six-foot seas for 40 nautical miles. Ultimately the smugglers threw their cargo over the side. 

Two weeks later, Resolute encountered a suspicious sailboat in the central Caribbean and launched a boarding team to inspect it. They found 750 kilos of cocaine stashed away in a hidden compartment on board. The smuggling suspects were detained and the drugs were brought aboard. 

Resolute also rendezvoused with the Royal Netherlands Navy patrol vessel HNLMS Holland, which transferred over additional suspects and another 2,000 kilos of cocaine that had been captured by the Holland's embarked boarding team. 

After Hurricane Helene hit Florida's Gulf Coast, Resolute's crew were allowed to cut the mission short and return to their families in St. Petersburg. Just as they arrived, Hurricane Milton came barreling in, and the cutter departed port to avoid the storm and position for relief efforts. After Milton passed inland, Resolute returned again to support search and rescue operations in the Tampa Bay area. 

“Time and time again, the crew demonstrated their professionalism, cohesion and excellence in mission execution,” said Cmdr. Ian Starr, commanding officer of Resolute. “I am so incredibly proud of their efforts and their ability to achieve success in conditions where success is never guaranteed.”  

Resolute is a 1966-built medium endurance cutter, and has been conducting drug busts since the seizure of the freighter Pamnico in 1986. Her midlife refit was in 1994.