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The USCGC Tahoma returns home from 79-day counter-narcotics patrol

The USCGC Tahoma returns home from 79-day counter-narcotics patrol
Archive image: A Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) crew lands on the flight deck of the Coast Guard Cutter Vigilant while on patrol in the Caribbean.
The crew’s patrol focused on enforcing U.S. federal laws by conducting boardings of international vessels throughout the Caribbean basin, while working with other government agencies and international partners, to increase national security.
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Ensign Hope DuBois.

KITTERY, Maine — The crew of the USCGC Tahoma (WMEC 908) returned to Kittery on Friday after a successful 79-day counter-narcotics and smuggling patrol in the Eastern Pacific.

The Coast Guard Cutter Tahoma crew interdicted two vessels, seizing 7,300 pounds of cocaine, worth a combined total of roughly $105 million, and detained eight suspected drug smugglers.

The crew also coordinated operations with U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment deployed aboard the Canadian Kingston-class coastal defense vessel HMCS Saskatoon (MM 709). The collaboration supported the seizure of an additional 4,000 pounds of cocaine and the detention of four suspected smugglers.

A flight crew and aviation detachment from the Coast Guard’s Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron deployed aboard the Tahoma for the patrol. HITRON crews are the Coast Guard’s airborne sharpshooters, specializing in disabling the engines of vessels that refuse to stop with precision rifle fire.

The USCGC Tahoma returns home from 79-day counter-narcotics patrol
A boat crew from USCGC Tahoma (WMEC 908) conducts training on assisting vessels in distress during the cutter’s deployment to the Eastern Pacific Ocean, May 19, 2021.
The Tahoma’s crew participated in Operation Orion VI, an international naval campaign to combat drug trafficking.
U.S. Coast Guard photo.

The Tahoma’s crew participated in Operation Orion VI, an international naval campaign to combat drug trafficking. During the operation, Tahoma patrolled in coordinated areas with the Colombian coastal patrol vessel Arc Punta Ardita (CPV 147) and rendezvoused for a formation steaming exercise.

“It’s been an extremely successful deployment for us – the crew demonstrated great resilience and perseverance with each challenge, and I am proud to serve with each and every one of them,” said Cmdr. Eric Johnson, commanding officer of Tahoma.

On April 1, U.S. Southern Command increased counter-narcotics operations in the Western Hemisphere to disrupt the flow of drugs. Numerous U.S. agencies from the Departments of Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security cooperated to combat transnational organized crime. The Coast Guard, Navy, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and allied and international partner agencies play a role in counter-drug operations.

The fight against drug cartels in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea requires unity of effort in all phases from detection, monitoring, and interdictions, to criminal prosecutions for these interdictions by United States Attorney’s Offices from the Middle District of Florida, the Southern District of Florida and the Southern District of California. The law enforcement phase of counter-smuggling operations in the Eastern Pacific Ocean is conducted under the authority of the Coast Guard Eleventh District, headquartered in Alameda. The interdictions, including the actual boardings, are led and conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard members.

The USCGC Tahoma returns home from 79-day counter-narcotics patrol
An MH-65 helicopter from U.S. Coast Guard HITRON (Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron), operating from USCGC Tahoma (WMEC 908), works with the Colombian naval vessel ARC Punta Ardita (PC 147) during joint operations to combat drug trafficking in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, May 25, 2021.
The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Tahoma returned to Kittery, Maine, on June 18, 2021, after a successful 79-day counter-narcotics and smuggling patrol in the Eastern Pacific interdicting two vessels, seizing 7,300 pounds of cocaine, worth a combined total of roughly $105 million, and detained eight suspected drug smugglers.
U.S. Coast Guard photo.

The Coast Guard Cutter Tahoma is a 270-foot cutter homeported in Kittery. The vessel and 100-person crew execute maritime law enforcement, homeland security, and search and rescue missions supporting U.S. Coast Guard operations throughout the Western Hemisphere.

-USCG-

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