The Coast Guard employs Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) MH-65 Dolphin helicopters and aircrews to locate and stop non-compliant suspected drug smuggling vessels.
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Hannah Peterman.
ASTORIA, Ore. – The USCGC Alert (Coast Guard Cutter, WMEC 630) crew and a MH-65 Dolphin aircrew from HITRON returned to homeport with 2.6 tons in cocaine after a 61-day counternarcotics patrol in the Eastern Pacific. Friday, June 16, 2023.
On May 26, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Marine Patrol Aircraft aircrew notified the Alert crew of a suspected “go-fast” vessel. The USCGC Alert crew launched a deployed onboard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew from the HITRON (Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron) along with the cutter’s small boat and law enforcement boarding team.
The Alert’s law enforcement boarding team interdicted the suspected go-fast vessel and suspected drug smugglers, discovering more than 2,600 kilograms of cocaine with an approximate value of $75 million.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the Alert’s crew. They fought through significant adversity to complete an outstanding patrol, one that each crewmember can look back at and know that we fully embodied our motto, “Semper Paratus,” said Cmdr. Matthew Kolodica. “As I look back over my years in command, this tour was both challenging and very rewarding, I will miss the Alert and crew as I transfer to the Coast Guard Academy. That said, I know with the arrival of Cmdr. Lee Crusius this summer that the cutter and crew will be in good hands well into the future.”
A boarding team gained control of the suspected go-fast vessel and interdicted more than 2,600 kilograms of cocaine.
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Hannah Peterman.
Kolodica will depart the Alert and be the director of Professional Maritime Studies at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut.
The fight against drug cartels in the Eastern Pacific Ocean requires unity of effort in all phases from detection, monitoring and interdictions, to criminal prosecutions by international partners and U.S. Attorneys in districts across the nation. The law enforcement phase of counter-smuggling operations in the Eastern Pacific Ocean is conducted under the authority of the Coast Guard 11th District, headquartered in Alameda, Calif. The interdictions, including the actual boardings, are led and conducted by members of the U.S. Coast Guard.
The Alert, commissioned in 1969, is a 210-foot Reliance-class medium endurance cutter stationed on the West Coast, and performs a variety of missions to protect Americans and American interests in the Northern and Eastern Pacific Ocean.
–USCG–
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A boarding team interdicted more than 2,600 kilograms of cocaine.
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Hannah Peterman.
