Overview

• The cutter Midgett offloaded about 21,126 pounds of cocaine in San Diego tied to Operation Pacific Viper, valued at roughly $156.4 million, after interceptions off Mexico, Central America and South America.
• Separately, the cutter Diligence offloaded approximately 8,700 pounds of cocaine in St. Petersburg, Florida, from a September 6 interdiction about 240 miles north of Panama, estimated at $64.5 million.
• An earlier August 7 boarding by Diligence seized 1,500 pounds of marijuana that was transferred to cutter Hamilton and included in what the service described as its largest drug offload in Port Everglades on August 25.
• Coast Guard officials say these seizures help counter what they describe as narco‑terrorism by cutting funds to transnational criminal groups and keeping large shipments from reaching U.S. communities.
• The operations highlight interagency roles with JIATF‑S detecting smuggling on the high seas and the Coast Guard conducting the law‑enforcement phase, as the service notes about 80% of U.S.‑bound drugs are interdicted at sea.