Coast Guard rounds up $69M worth of cocaine during a patrol in the Caribbean

During a 59-day patrol in the Caribbean Sea, a U.S. Coast Guard crew seized about 4,000 pounds of cocaine with a street value of $69 million by their estimation.

The crew of the Cutter Mohawk, a 270-foot vessel with a crew of 80, returned home to Key West on Friday.

They stopped four boats and detained five suspected drug smugglers while on patrol, the Coast Guard reported.

The Mohawk’s crew also worked with the Dominican Republic Navy and Panamanian law enforcement officers.

“These interdictions reflect teamwork and the unwavering resolve between the Coast Guard, federal law enforcement, Department of Defense, and our international partners to protect the region against the scourge of transnational criminal organizations,” said Cmdr. James L. Jarnac, the Coast Guard Cutter Mohawk’s commanding officer.

This story was originally published February 12, 2021 at 5:39 PM.

Gwen Filosa

Miami Herald

Gwen Filosa covers Key West and the Lower Florida Keys for FLKeysNews.com and the Miami Herald and lives in Key West. She was part of the staff at the New Orleans Times-Picayune that in 2005 won two Pulitzer Prizes for coverage of Hurricane Katrina. She graduated from Indiana University.