Coast Guard Unloads $312M Worth of Cocaine at the Port of San Diego

The U.S. Coast Guard unloaded about 18,000 pounds of cocaine at the port of San Diego this Wednesday upon its return from a series of successful drug busts. Five different crews were responsible for the enormous haul, with operations to seize the smuggled narcotics taking place in an area of the Eastern Pacific Ocean, an area often utilized by drug runners.

Smuggling operations are often first spotted by joint military-law enforcement task forces based out of Florida. Once acquired, they track the vessels until a cutter crew is launched to confront the smugglers. These operations are often intense, with Coast Guard boats speeding alongside the vessels and ordering them to stop. 

In a video released in July, it shows a Coast Guard cutter unit boarding a semi-submersible vessel known as a “narco sub” while it is still moving. The military personnel is seen pounding on the subs hatch until it is opened, with the operation leading to 16,000 pounds of cocaine being seized.

Officials offloaded the 18,000 pounds of cocaine off at the Port of San Diego in Barrio Logan, with estimated of the narcotics having a value of $312 million. Much of the seizures occur between mid-October to December, making it a busy month for Coast Guard officials. 

Coast Guard and Drug Enforcement Agency officials say the work being done to stop the flow of cocaine into the U.S. plays a huge role in eliminating a major revenue source of the cartels. By taking these narcotics out of play, the revenue lost by the cartels is money that will not be spent on things like violent crime, human trafficking, and arms trafficking. 

The flow of narcotics is a regular occurrence at the many ports of the entrance between Mexico and San Diego, with the area being one of the largest drug smuggling corridors in the nation. Despite bolstered efforts to limit drug smuggling, millions of dollars of narcotics continue to flood into the country, posing a significant risk to American communities.