The U.S. military stymied a suspected drug smuggling operation Aug. 11 when it chased and disabled a vessel hauling contraband in the Eastern Pacific, according to a Navy release.
A U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment, embarked aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer Sampson, seized 1,296 pounds of cocaine while conducting the maritime interdiction operation.
“Sampson, operating in a known drug trafficking corridor, identified a suspicious vessel exhibiting telltale indicators of smuggling, including excessive fuel barrels and packaged cargo visible on deck,” the release said.
The Sampson sprang into action and sent a U.S. Navy MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter from Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 49 “Scorpions,” and a rigid-hull inflatable boat, to intercept the smuggling vessel.
The vessel attempted to evade apprehension, bolting from the area while throwing contraband overboard.
U.S. military vessels fired warning shots, but the vessel did not heed them and continued its escape.
The helicopter crew, under Coast Guard direction, then fired at the vessel, disabling it completely without harming any suspects.
Two boarding teams, some from U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment 105, boarded the vessel. There, they found 12 bales of cocaine, which they promptly seized.
Military personnel placed two individuals in custody and transferred them to Sampson.
RELATED
The U.S. Coast Guard and Navy opted not to tow the smuggling vessel, as it had begun to sink and was in declining condition.
The interdiction was conducted under international law and a bilateral agreement with Ecuador, the Navy said.
Despite the massive sum of narcotics, the seizure wasn’t the Sampson’s largest haul.
On July 10, the guided-missile destroyer intercepted an estimated 3,439 pounds of cocaine 380 miles southwest of Acapulco, Mexico.
After the Aug. 11 cocaine seizure, the Sampson — which is employed under U.S. Northern Command’s maritime homeland defense authorities — returned to the U.S. 3rd Fleet.
U.S. Northern Command is leading the Trump administration’s charge to deploy additional military forces to the southern border for enhanced border security. The command established Joint Task Force-Southern Border on March 14, 2025, at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, to assume authority of the mission.
As of July 2, approximately 8,500 military personnel were attached to the joint task force, which has conducted more than 3,500 patrols, 150 of which were done in collaboration with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Mexican military, according to Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell.
Riley Ceder is a reporter at Military Times, where he covers breaking news, criminal justice, investigations, and cyber. He previously worked as an investigative practicum student at The Washington Post, where he contributed to the Abused by the Badge investigation.
Read the full article here
