By SDCN Staff
San Diego, CA–The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Kimball (WMSL 756) offloaded approximately 18,898 pounds of cocaine on Thursday in San Diego, with an estimated street value exceeding $214.3 million.
The massive haul resulted from six separate drug smuggling interdictions conducted between February and April. These operations took place off the coasts of Mexico, Central America, and South America, carried out by the Kimball and the Forward, both U.S. Coast Guard cutters.
The seizures are part of a broader, coordinated effort involving multiple U.S. agencies. The Departments of Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security, along with agencies such as the U.S. Navy, FBI, DEA, CBP, and ICE, collaborate with international partners to combat transnational criminal organizations and disrupt narcotics trafficking routes.
Operations in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, a key corridor for drug smuggling, are overseen by the Eleventh Coast Guard District based in Alameda, California. The law enforcement phase—tracking, boarding, and seizing smuggling vessels—is led by the Coast Guard.
“The Coast Guard continues to intensify its efforts to detect, seize, and disrupt illegal drug shipments,” officials said. “These operations are critical to breaking the supply chain that fuels drug cartels and enables the trafficking of dangerous substances like fentanyl into the U.S.”
The Kimball, one of two Legend-class national security cutters based in Honolulu, Hawaii, is built to perform in some of the world’s most challenging open ocean conditions. Its crew is especially capable of covering vast areas of the Southern Pacific, where significant narcotics activity persists.
