Photo Left : USS Nicholas. Credit: U.S. Navy.FROM: U.S. NAVY
USS Nicholas Recovers Approximately 4,900 Pounds Of Cocaine
From U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command and U.S. 4th Fleet Public Affairs
USS NICHOLAS, At Sea (NNS) -- Guided-missile frigate USS Nicholas (FFG 47) recovered 112 bales of cocaine, weighing approximately 4,910 pounds, during an interdiction off the Pacific Coast of Colombia in support of Operation Martillo, June 4.
The estimated wholesale value of the recovered drugs is more than $60 million, with an estimated street value of more than $367 million.
In a coordinated effort, crews from Nicholas, the U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET), the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Sherman, and the Colombian navy disrupted a major shipment of contraband.
U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard LEDET personnel recovered contraband that was jettisoned from the go-fast before the vessel entered Colombian territorial waters. The Colombian navy was in the vicinity and launched a patrol boat to intercept and seize the go-fast.
Photo Above 120506-N-ZZ999-002 PACIFIC OCEAN (May 6, 2012) Alleged drug traffickers are arrested by Colombian naval forces in this still frame from a forward-looking infrared (FLIR) video camera from a U.S. Navy helicopter assigned to the guided-missile frigate USS McClusky (FFG 41) during interdiction operations in the eastern Pacific coastal waters of Colombia. The helicopter maintained surveillance as the Colombian navy made the arrest. (U.S. Navy photo/Released)
Since the beginning of their deployment in January, USS Nicholas and the embarked LEDET has seized approximately 10,148 pounds of cocaine, with a total estimated street value of more than $759 million.
Operation Martillo (Spanish for 'hammer') is a U.S., European, and Western Hemisphere partner nation effort targeting illicit trafficking routes in coastal waters along the Central American isthmus. U.S. military participation is being led by Joint Interagency Task Force-South, a component of U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM), while U.S. maritime law enforcement and the interdiction phase of operations in the region occurs under the tactical control of the 11th Coast Guard District, based in Alameda, Calif., or by law enforcement agencies of partner nations in the region. Operation Martillo is a component of the U.S. government's coordinated interagency regional security strategy in support of the White House strategy to combat transnational organized crime and the U.S. Central America Regional Security Initiative.
U.S. Coast Guard LEDETs belong to Tactical Law Enforcement Team South or Pacific Tactical Law Enforcement Team and are an armed deployable specialized force under the U.S. Coast Guard's Deployable Operations Group. They were created to support narcotics interdiction operations aboard U.S. Navy and allied ships and are capable of supporting Department of Defense national defense operations. LEDETs provide specialized law enforcement capability and maritime security capabilities to enforce U.S. laws across a full spectrum of maritime response situations, maritime security augmentation and maritime interdiction anti-piracy operations.
U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command and U.S. 4th Fleet (COMUSNAVSO/C4F) supports USSOUTHCOM joint and combined full-spectrum military operations by providing principally sea-based, forward presence to ensure freedom of maneuver in the maritime domain, to foster and sustain cooperative relationships with international partners and to fully exploit the sea as maneuver space in order to enhance regional security and promote peace, stability, and prosperity in the Caribbean, Central and South American regions.
