Coast Guard offloads nearly 19,000 pounds of cocaine in San Diego bust

SAN DIEGO - The U.S. Coast Guard delivered a major blow to drug traffickers this week, offloading nearly 19,000 pounds of seized cocaine in San Diego, with an estimated street value of more than $214 million. The drugs were intercepted during multiple operations in the Pacific over the last few months.

The haul, unloaded by the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Kimball, follows six separate interdictions of suspected smuggling vessels between February and April. The missions took place off the coasts of Mexico and Central and South America.

The backstory:

The interdictions involved a coordinated effort between the Coast Guard, Navy, Customs and Border Protection, the FBI, DEA, ICE, and allied international agencies. Officials say the seizures are part of a broader mission to disrupt the maritime supply chains fueling transnational criminal organizations.

"The fight against drug cartels in the Eastern Pacific requires unity of effort," the Coast Guard said in a press release. That effort spans detection, interdiction, and prosecution phases, involving multiple U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and international judicial partnerships.

Cutter Kimball takes the lead

Local perspective:

The Coast Guard Cutter Kimball, homeported in Honolulu, is one of two legend-class national security cutters stationed in Hawaii. It’s designed for operations in the demanding open-ocean conditions of the Southern Pacific, where cocaine and other narcotics often move through maritime routes.

With its advanced capabilities, Kimball’s crew conducted the interdictions and led the boardings that ultimately prevented nearly 19,000 pounds of cocaine from reaching U.S. shores.

What's next:

The Coast Guard says it will continue ramping up its counter-narcotics efforts in the region, which remains a critical corridor for illicit drug smuggling by sea. In addition to targeting cocaine shipments, authorities say these operations also aim to disrupt the flow of ingredients used to produce fentanyl, a major contributor to the U.S. overdose crisis.