Coast Guard and Navy Team Up: Seize $135M worth of Cocaine in first 5 months. - Page 2

waltky · #11 (**permalink**) 09-29-2017, 08:37 AM

UPDATE:

Coast Guard seizes $15 million dollars worth of cocaine...

$15 Million Worth of Seized Coke Offloaded at Port, Coast Guard Says
28 Sep 2017 | More than 1,000 pounds of cocaine that will never be part of the illicit drug trade sailed into Port Everglades Wednesday aboard a U.S. Coast Guard cutter.

Quote:

Crew members from the Coast Guard Cutter Valiant offloaded approximately 490 kilograms, or about 1,080 pounds, of cocaine that the agency says has a wholesale value of $15 million. The drugs were seized during three separate interdiction cases that took place this month in the Eastern Pacific, the Coast Guard said.

Crew members on an interceptor boat from the Coast Guard Cutter Valiant approach bales of cocaine jettisoned in the Eastern Pacific Ocean by suspected smugglers

Details of the operations were not disclosed. "Our whole of government efforts are targeting the financial lifeline of organized crime to ultimately cause the collapse of these illegal networks," Capt. Mark Vlaun, staff judge advocate for the Coast Guard Seventh District said in a statement. The Cutter Valiant is a 210-foot Coast Guard vessel based at Mayport Naval Station in Jacksonville.

$15 Million Worth of Seized Coke Offloaded at Port, Coast Guard Says | Military.com

waltky · #12 (**permalink**) 11-11-2017, 04:14 PM

USS Zephyr Seizes 35 Bales of Cocaine in Single Bust...

Patrol Ship Returns After Seizing 35 Bales of Cocaine in Single Bust
10 Nov 2017 | A Cyclone-class patrol ship will return home to Mayport Naval Station on Friday after a 76-day deployment in waters off the coast of Central America where it helped seize 726 kilograms of cocaine in a single drug bust late last month.

Quote:

The USS Zephyr began the deployment Aug. 26 where it conducted counter illicit-trafficking operations in support of Operation Martillo -- which is Spanish for hammer. The Zephyr and a U.S. Coast Guard vessel identified a "go fast" boat as a possible drug smuggler Oct. 29, and then found 17 bales of cocaine after boarding the vessel, according to the Navy. The personnel located another 18 bales of cocaine in the water near the stopped boat.

Personnel assigned to the Cyclone-class patrol coastal USS Zephyr intercepted a small boat carrying 35 bales, approximately 700-1050 kg of cocaine while on a routine patrol in the Caribbean sea

Authorities estimate the drugs are worth about $17 million to $26 million on the street, according to the Navy. Three people were detained after the seizure. The Zephyr uses a small inflatable boat to deploy Coast Guard law enforcement teams to intercept the boat, according to the Navy.

"The Zephyr crew was not deterred in the least by a record-setting 76 day patrol," said Lt. Cmdr. Grant Greenwell, commanding officer of the ship. "The team volunteered liberty time in San Juan, Puerto Rico to help offload supplies destined for Hurricane Maria victims. This crew inspires and motivates me daily. We may be one tenth the size of a destroyer and one tenth the crew, but we have ten times the heart." The deployment was the longest one for the Zephyr since it changed its home port to Mayport.

Patrol Ship Returns After Seizing 35 Bales of Cocaine in Single Bust | Military.com

ShivaTD · #13 (**permalink**) 11-12-2017, 07:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Awahso

5 drug busts + 2 months = $135 million of cocaine Coast Guard Compass

Well, shows that our Coasties and Sailors are staying busy. Even though the War on Drugs may be considered a failure, at least this is another $135 Million that the drug cartels will not profit on. The USCG and USN should team up more often.

An interesting fact is the "value" the government places on illegal drugs. Cocaine is a legally sold product in the United States and the "illegal" value of cocaine is based upon the "street value" of a gram of cocaine and not on the legal market value. The street value is roughly 400-times the cost of the same amount of legal cocaine that's distributed by pharmacies as a pain medication generally used for cancer treatment.

Understanding the "over-valuation" of illegal drugs when compared to the legal value of the drug the amount of cocaine seized was about $337,000 and not $135 million.

AZRWinger · #14 (**permalink**) 11-13-2017, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShivaTD

An interesting fact is the "value" the government places on illegal drugs. Cocaine is a legally sold product in the United States and the "illegal" value of cocaine is based upon the "street value" of a gram of cocaine and not on the legal market value. The street value is roughly 400-times the cost of the same amount of legal cocaine that's distributed by pharmacies as a pain medication generally used for cancer treatment.

Understanding the "over-valuation" of illegal drugs when compared to the legal value of the drug the amount of cocaine seized was about $337,000 and not $135 million.

The drugs would have been sold on the street at street prices if they had not been interdicted. It is reasonable to value them at street prices.

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