U.S. and Mexican Forces Seize Nearly 2,000 Pounds of Cocaine From Vessel in Pacific

United States and Mexican law enforcement seized about 1,990 pounds of cocaine from a go-fast vessel in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico. Customs and Border Patrol air assets first spotted the vessel, according to the Joint Interagency Task Force South, a group made up of 21 partner nations including the U.S. and Mexico.

The boat's crew threw bales of the drugs into the ocean after realizing they had been spotted. Mexican naval personnel responded quickly and retrieved the packages from the water. Officials said the navy also fast-roped Marines directly onto the deck of the vessel.

The task force did not disclose whether any arrests were made. The interdiction was one of at least three recent operations conducted by the Mexican navy in the Pacific Ocean. In one operation, naval forces seized 22 packages of cocaine and rescued 11 shipwrecked people from a vessel near Guerrero.

The rescued group received medical attention before being handed over to immigration authorities.

A second operation resulted in the discovery of seven packages of cocaine during an inspection of a container ship docked in the port city of Manzanillo. Three stowaways were also found and detained during that inspection. In the third operation, the navy recovered 34 additional packages of illicit cargo from a boat near Acapulco, which were later transported to the Oaxacan coast for destruction.

The Mexican navy stated that 65.5 tons of illicit cocaine has been seized under the current administration. Officials did not specify the exact dates of the three operations or identify which one involved assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.

Earlier this year, authorities reported that the U.S. and Mexico seized nearly 200 packages containing several tons of cocaine from a ship in a coordinated Pacific operation.