The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Thursday  that the U.S. Coast Guard has successfully seized more than 25,000 pounds of cocaine across three interdictions in less than a week, surpassing more than 260,000 pounds of cocaine seized overall in Operation Pacific Viper.

On September 11, a maritime patrol aircraft spotted a go-fast vessel in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, south of Costa Rica. U.S. Coast Guard Cutter (USCGC) Tampa launched its cutter boat and embarked helicopter to intercept it. The helicopter crew employed effective warning shots before Coast Guard law enforcement personnel conducted a boarding.

During the boarding, Coast Guard personnel discovered suspected contraband that tested presumptively positive for cocaine. The crew of USCGC Tampa seized approximately 3,100 kilograms, or more than 6,800 pounds, of cocaine, embarked three suspected smugglers, and sank the vessel as a hazard to navigation.

Five days later, on September 15, USCGC Tampa’s embarked helicopter detected a suspected drug-smuggling vessel south of Panama. As the cutter responded, crews spotted a second suspected drug-smuggling vessel. Coast Guard personnel interdicted both vessels, seizing approximately 6,827 kilograms, or more than 15,000 pounds, of cocaine and embarked six suspected smugglers. The following day, USCGC Tampa was diverted by a maritime patrol aircraft to a go-fast vessel south of Panama. Tampa launched its cutter boat and embarked helicopter, and the helicopter crew employed warning shots and disabling fire to stop the vessel. The cutter boat crew interdicted four suspected narco-terrorists and seized approximately 1,568 kilograms, or 3,456 pounds, of cocaine after the helicopter crew located a bale field.

Over the course of these three interdictions, the total amount of cocaine seized was 11,456 kilograms, or more than 25,256 pounds.

With 1.2 grams of cocaine considered a potentially deadly dose, these three interdictions represent approximately 9.5 million potentially deadly doses kept from reaching communities. Since surpassing the 225,000-pound cocaine seizure milestone, the Coast Guard has continued Operation Pacific Viper’s aggressive counter-drug operations and has seized approximately 119,165 kilograms, or over 262,000 pounds, of cocaine in the Eastern Pacific.

“In just six days, the Coast Guard Cutter Tampa has seized more than 25,000 pounds of cocaine in three interdictions, bringing the total amount of cocaine seized in Operation Pacific Viper to more than 260,000 pounds,” said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. “Thanks to the hard work of the brave men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard, more than 9 million lethal doses of cocaine will never reach our shores. President Trump promised to make America safe again, and stopping these drugs from infecting our communities is exactly how we do it. DHS is committed to keeping our borders secure, on land and at sea.”

“We own the sea, and Operation Pacific Viper is proving that every day,” said Admiral Kevin Lunday, Commandant of the Coast Guard. “Coast Guard crews are taking the fight to narco-terrorists in the maritime domain, denying them the routes they rely on to move drugs, money and violence, while protecting the homeland and disrupting transnational criminal organizations far from U.S. shores.”

Operation Pacific Viper has accelerated counter-drug operations in the Eastern Pacific, a primary corridor for narcotics smuggling from Central and South America. The Coast Guard has surged cutters, aircraft, and tactical teams to interdict, seize, and disrupt the flow of cocaine and other illicit drugs. These efforts are a critical component of the broader U.S. strategy to combat narco-terrorism and dismantle transnational criminal organizations.

Detecting and interdicting narco-terrorism on the high seas involves significant interagency and international coordination. U.S. Southern Command’s Joint Interagency Task Force-South, based in Key West, Florida, detects and monitors aerial and maritime transit of illegal drugs. Once interdiction becomes imminent, the law enforcement phase of the operation begins, and control of the operation shifts to the U.S. Coast Guard throughout the interdiction and apprehension.

Interdictions in the Eastern Pacific Ocean are performed by members of the U.S. Coast Guard under the authority and control of the Coast Guard’s Southwest District, headquartered in Alameda, California.