U.S. Coast Guard offloads 11 tons of cocaine seized in Eastern Pacific Ocean

SAN DIEGO - The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stratton offloaded in San Diego more than 11 tons of cocaine seized in international waters of the eastern Pacific from late August to mid-September.

The bales of the narcotic were seized from eight smuggling vessels intercepted off the coasts of Mexico and Central and South America by personnel aboard the Stratton and the cutters Seneca and Active, according to USCG public affairs.

"This offload reflects the outstanding efforts of the Coast Guard and our partner agencies to disrupt and dismantle transnational criminal organizations,'' said Capt. Craig Wieschhorster, skipper of the Stratton. "These interdiction results take hundreds of millions of dollars away from these criminal networks that work to undermine the rule of law in South and Central America, which increases migration pressures on the U.S. southern border. Keeping this product off the streets of America saves lives, and I am very proud of the efforts of my crew."

The Alameda-homeported Stratton was responsible for stopping six vessels during the tour of duty, while the Active and Seneca both stopped one vessel each, according to the federal maritime agency.