The US Coast Guard has interdicted seven low-profile drug smuggling vessels since June 2017, resulting in the seizure of more than 22,850 pounds of cocaine worth over $306 million.
Low-profile vessels are specifically designed for smuggling illicit cargo such as drugs, weapons and cash. These smuggling vessels ride low in the water to reduce their radar signature, have multiple outboard motors to allow them to travel at high speeds and are painted to blend with the water to avoid detection from military and law enforcement authorities operating in the region. The vessel is also capable of carrying large quantities of illicit cargo in its elongated bow.
“The information gleaned from these Coast Guard interdictions provides insight into the pathways of illicit trafficking and contribute to the arrest and extradition of high-level drug cartel kingpins and follow on interdictions,” said Vice Adm. Fred Midgette, commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area.
Coast Guardsmen from the Coast Guard Cutter Steadfast from Astoria, Oregon, interdicted a suspected low-profile drug smuggling vessel in driving rain, several hundred miles off the Central American coast on 14 August 2017, seizing over 6,000 pounds of cocaine and apprehending four suspected smugglers.
All low-profile vessel interdictions by Coast Guard forces have occurred in known drug transit zones in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Central and South America.
An increased presence of US and allied forces in the Eastern Pacific Ocean coupled with increased cocaine production in South America has led to a significant increase in narcotics removal in the drug transit zones off South and Central America. Last fiscal year, the Coast Guard set the U.S. record for most drugs ever seized after stopping more than 443,790 pounds of cocaine from reaching the U.S. worth $5.9 billion.