Portsmouth Cutter Stops Over 2,000 Pounds of Drugs

PORTSMOUTH, Va. – The Cutter Legare working with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and the government of Nicaragua seized more than 2,400 pounds of drugs Thursday in the Caribbean Sea.

Wednesday, a patrolling ICE P-3 aircraft based in Jacksonville, Fla., spotted a suspicious go-fast in the Caribbean east of Nicaragua. The Coast Guard Cutters Legare and Venturous , working for Joint Inter Agency Task Force South, were diverted to intercept the vessel. The crew on board refused to stop and began to throw bales of contraband overboard. The Coast Guard’s Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron Sting Ray helicopter, also from Jacksonville, fired warning shots, and then used disabling fire to slow the go fast.

With the suspected smuggler’s vessel running on only one engine, the five crewmen grounded their boat near Laguna Bismuna, Nicaragua, and disappeared into the mangroves on shore. The Venturous and a Nicaraguan navy vessel teamed up to recover 40 bales of cocaine, totalling more than 2,400 pounds.

The vessel and the contraband were turned over to the Nicaraguan naval officials early Friday morning.

“This is the type of effort that is underway everyday in the Caribbean to keep these dangerous drugs off our streets,” said Capt. Everett Rollins, chief of operations for the Seventh Coast Guard District.

The Legare is a 270-foot medium endurance cutter from Portsmouth.

The Venturous is a 210-foot medium endurance cutter from St. Petersburg, Fla.

Portsmouth Cutter Stops Over 2,000 Pounds of Drugs

PORTSMOUTH, Va. – The Cutter Legare working with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and the government of Nicaragua seized more than 2,400 pounds of drugs Thursday in the Caribbean Sea.

Wednesday, a patrolling ICE P-3 aircraft based in Jacksonville, Fla., spotted a suspicious go-fast in the Caribbean east of Nicaragua. The Coast Guard Cutters Legare and Venturous , working for Joint Inter Agency Task Force South, were diverted to intercept the vessel. The crew on board refused to stop and began to throw bales of contraband overboard. The Coast Guard’s Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron Sting Ray helicopter, also from Jacksonville, fired warning shots, and then used disabling fire to slow the go fast.

With the suspected smuggler’s vessel running on only one engine, the five crewmen grounded their boat near Laguna Bismuna, Nicaragua, and disappeared into the mangroves on shore. The Venturous and a Nicaraguan navy vessel teamed up to recover 40 bales of cocaine, totalling more than 2,400 pounds.

The vessel and the contraband were turned over to the Nicaraguan naval officials early Friday morning.

“This is the type of effort that is underway everyday in the Caribbean to keep these dangerous drugs off our streets,” said Capt. Everett Rollins, chief of operations for the Seventh Coast Guard District.

The Legare is a 270-foot medium endurance cutter from Portsmouth.

The Venturous is a 210-foot medium endurance cutter from St. Petersburg, Fla.