A U.S. Coast Guard crew spent 97 days at sea and returned to Alameda Sunday morning stocked with more than 27,000 pounds of seized cocaine.
Those service members aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Waesche traversed roughly 15,000 nautical miles off the coast of Central America and captured over $797 million in cocaine and 24 people suspected of being drug traffickers from drug submarines or other loaded vessels, according to a press release.
That hefty contribution helped the U.S. Coast Guard as a whole set a new seizure record. More than 416,600 pounds of cocaine priced above $5.6 billion were confiscated during the 2016 fiscal year, marking the largest U.S. Coast Guard bust during a single year since 2008, according to a press release.
Aside from praising his crew for its bravery and diligent commitment to keeping drugs out of neighborhoods in the United States, Waesche's commanding officer Capt. Jim Passarelli added that he's excited that everyone is back in the Bay Area.
"It feels great to be home," he said. "It's great to see the families on the pier. We're ready for Thanksgiving.
