MIAMI — The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Confidence intercepted a 28-foot vessel suspected of smuggling narcotics Feb. 9 in the Caribbean Sea.
The Confidence crew was patrolling south of Cuba, in international waters, when they spotted the go-fast, which led to the confiscation of approximately 1,100 pounds of marijuana and the detainment of six suspected smugglers.
As the Confidence’s boatcrew pursued the go-fast vessel, the suspected smugglers were witnessed jettisoning bales of marijuana into the water. A second boatcrew was launched to recover the evidence, resulting in the collection of 36 bales packed with illegal drugs.
Coast Guard cutter crews consistently train to respond to emergencies, search and rescue, and drug and migrant interdiction cases, all of which often occur without warning.
Confidence’s drug interdiction is one example of many that exhibits the Coast Guard’s efforts in stopping the flow of illegal narcotics into the United States. The Confidence is a 210-foot, medium-endurance cutter homeported in Port Canaveral, Fla. The Confidence crew primarily conducts counter-drug and undocumented migrant interdiction patrols in the Caribbean Sea.
Medium-endurance cutters like the Confidence are built for multi-week offshore patrols including operations requiring enhanced communications, and helicopter and pursuit boat operations, which provide a key capability for homeland security operations at sea.
