An Alameda-based U.S. Coast Guard crew seized approximately 140 pounds of cocaine and apprehended three suspected smugglers earlier this month in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, the Coast Guard announced Friday.
A Coast Guard aircraft spotted a suspicious vessel in international waters approximately 250 miles south of Guatemala on Jan. 8, and the crew of the 378-foot long Coast Guard Cutter Morgenthau pursued the boat.
With approximately 165 personnel, the Morgenthau's crew is tasked with search and rescue, drug and migrant interdiction, fisheries and maritime law enforcement, marine environmental protection and homeland security.
According to the Coast Guard, the suspects allegedly threw several bales of cocaine overboard. The Coast Guard recovered the bales, along with a suspect who fell overboard during the chase.
The remaining two suspects were apprehended when the boat was caught a short time later, and all three suspects were turned over to authorities before being transferred to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Florida's Southern District for prosecution.
Bay City News
