New Delhi, June 02, 2021: Following the successful 58-day counter-smuggling operation in the Eastern Pacific, the crew of the Coast Guard cutter USCG ACTIVE returned to Port Angeles, Washington. The 55-year-old cutter and its crew patrolled international seas off the coasts of Central America and Mexico as part of a long-running US effort to combat cocaine trafficking.
USCG ACTIVE is a 210-foot medium endurance cutter of the Reliance class that was commissioned in 1966. She will be replaced, along with the other 13 vessels in her class, by the upcoming Offshore Patrol Cutter. Despite her advanced age, Active is frequently dispatched on long-distance missions to combat smuggling, enforce fishery regulations, and conduct search and rescue operations according to the reports published in fleetmon.com.
With the help of the HITRON sharpshooter unit, the Active was able to overpower two vessels during its patrol and seized around 5,650 pounds of cocaine with an estimated market value of $107 million. One of the two smuggling vessels was a low-profile craft, which is a purpose-built watercraft that rides low in the water to avoid detection and is usually painted blue to hide its appearance.
USCG ACTIVE‘s crew offloaded approximately 11,500 pounds of seized cocaine in San Diego on May 19, including drugs from her interdictions as well as drugs from two other cutters, the Steadfast and the Tahoma. For further prosecution, the narcotics and suspects were transferred to other federal law enforcement organizations.
