By Karen Robes Meeks
More than 14,300 pounds of cocaine seized off the Eastern Pacific Ocean in February-March was offloaded by US Coast Guard Cutter Waesche crew members earlier this month in San Diego.
The drugs were captured by the crew of Cutters Waesche, Active and Steadfast during six interdictions off the Mexican, Central and South American coasts.
The cutters are all homeported on the West Coast: the 418-foot national security cutter Waesche is in Alameda, while 210-foot medium endurance cutters Active and Steadfast are based in Port Angeles, Washington, and Astoria, Oregon, respectively.
"The offload that you see behind me, the bales of cocaine, represents a successful example of the cycle of justice," said Rear Adm. Nathan Moore, deputy commander of Coast Guard Pacific Area. "This cycle of justice disrupts a cycle of crime which, left unchecked, fuels violence and instability that erodes our hemisphere's social and economic fabric and directly contributes to historically high numbers of drug-related deaths in North America."
