Mishall RehmanNearly 660 kg of cocaine were seized by Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Saskatoon and the United States Coast Guard (USCG) on March 12, in the eastern Pacific off of the coast of Central America.
After a maritime patrol aircraft had spotted a suspicious vessel on a routine patrol in the eastern Pacific Ocean, HMCS Saskatoon launched a rigid hull inflatable boat to intercept the vessel. Alongside a USCG Law Enforcement Detachment team, HMCS Saskatoon was able to apprehend three-suspected smugglers sailing on a panga-style vessel. They were then, also, able to retrieve 33 bales of cocaine from both the vessel and the ocean, after the suspected smugglers attempted to jettison their cargo.
The bales tested positive for cocaine.
“I am extremely pleased to see that the great training the crew has received in recent months came together for a successful interdiction in support of regional stability,” said Lcdr. Todd Bacon, Commanding Officer HMCS Saskatoon.
The interception of the vessel and cocaine came during HMCS Saskatoon’s deployment on Operation CARIBBE, Canada’s contribution to the multinational effort to improve regional security and deter illicit trafficking by translational criminal organizations in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.
Above Photo: Crewmembers from Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship Saskatoon load a cargo net with seized illicit drugs on March 13, 2017 to transfer them to a United States Coast Guard ship during Operation CARIBBE Photo: Royal Canadian Navy Public Affairs
