Drug Interdiction

In the early “proof of concept” phase, HITRON MH-90 “Enforcer” helicopters stopped all five go-fasts they intercepted, arresting 17 drug traffickers and interdicting over 1.5 tons of cocaine and 5.5 tons of marijuana with an estimated street value of over $131 million. Success continued from there.

On the evening of March 8, 1973, Coast Guard cutter Dauntless made the Coast Guard’s first-ever seizure of a marijuana smuggler when it stopped the sport fisherman Big L at the western edge of the Bahamas.

Following a decades-long pause that began soon after the end of Prohibition, the Coast Guard was once again called upon to combat maritime drug smugglers in the early 1970s.

With a seizure of opium near the entrance to San Francisco Bay in November 1886, cutters of the Revenue Marine Service began a fight against maritime drug smuggling that continues to this day.

Joe led the tactical law enforcement specialists that comprised his Drug Interdiction Assist Team through the rivers of Central America, resulting in one of the largest drug busts of its time.

Vessel boarding has been a time-honored skill set of the Coast Guard since its founding in 1790.

"On August 31 the American Steamer George E Starr was seized on Puget Sound by a detail of four officers and 18 men sent from the Wolcott. Two Chinese subjects, together with a quantity of opium, were discovered secreted on board. "