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Commander, Naval Surface Forces Atlantic

USS Nitze Recovers Over 3,000 Pounds of Marijuana

by U.S. Fourth Fleet Public Affairs Office
21 August 2020

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Nitze (DDG 94) with embarked U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) seized 725 kilograms of suspected cocaine and 3,190 pounds of suspected marijuana, August 4.

An MH-60R “Seahawk” assigned to Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 60 (HSM 60) embarked onboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Nitze (DDG 94) with embarked U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) team conducts enhanced counter narcotics operations Aug. 4, 2020. Nitze and embarked LEDET recovered 725 kilograms of suspected cocaine and 3,190 pounds of suspected marijuana. Nitze is deployed to the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility to support counter illicit drug trafficking in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. (U.S. Navy Photo by Gunners Mate 3rd Class Jessica Telfer/Released)
SLIDESHOW | 1 images | 200804-N-EW497-003 An MH-60R “Seahawk” assigned to Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 60 (HSM 60) embarked onboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Nitze (DDG 94) with embarked U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) team conducts enhanced counter narcotics operations Aug. 4, 2020. Nitze and embarked LEDET recovered 725 kilograms of suspected cocaine and 3,190 pounds of suspected marijuana. Nitze is deployed to the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility to support counter illicit drug trafficking in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. (U.S. Navy Photo by Gunners Mate 3rd Class Jessica Telfer/Released)

While on routine patrol, a USCG C-130 Hercules Maritime Patrol Reconnaissance Aircraft (MPRA) located a go fast vessel (GFV) suspected of carrying illegal contraband. Nitze was vectored in for a long-range intercept and deployed “Jaguar 606,” one of its embarked MH-60R Seahawks assigned to Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 60 (HSM 60).
 

Warning shots were fired from the helicopter after the GVF failed to stop when directed.  Nitze and the embarked LEDET deployed in a rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB) to board the vessel and conduct the search.  Three suspected drug smugglers were detained.
 

Nitze and the embarked LEDET recovered a total of 725 kilograms of suspected cocaine worth over an estimated wholesale value of $27 million and 3,190 pounds of suspected marijuana worth an estimated wholesale value of $5.6 million.
 

USS Nitze is deployed to the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility to support enhanced counter drug operations in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.
 

On April 1, U.S. Southern Command began enhanced counter-narcotics operations in the Western Hemisphere to disrupt the flow of drugs in support of Presidential National Security Objectives. Numerous U.S. agencies from the Departments of Defense, Justice and Homeland Security cooperated in the effort to combat transnational organized crime. The Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, Customs and Border Protection, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with allied and international partner agencies, play a role in counter-drug operations.


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USS Nitze (DDG 94)

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