Charleston Cutter and Jacksonville Helo get a Grand Slam Bust with Dutch Assist
U. S. Coast Guard
November 09, 2004
MIAMI - Coast Guard Cutter Gallatin scored a grand slam with its fourth bust of its current patrol and the Dutch Navy vessel Van Der Zaan scored its own bust and an assist with Gallatin.
The Charleston, S.C. - based Gallatin seized 7,500 pounds of cocaine and detained five suspected smugglers yesterday with the assistance of Van Der Zaan, whose crew seized an additional 1,750 pounds of cocaine and took custody of four suspected smugglers in the Caribbean on Friday.
The most recent case began Monday morning when the Coast Guard's Seventh District Command Center, located here, was notified by Joint Inter Agency Task Force South in Key West, Fla., that a maritime patrol aircraft was tracking a go-fast located approximately 150 miles northwest of Colombia.
Gallatin's embarked MH-68 Sting Ray helicopter from the Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron in Jacksonville, Fla., was launched to pursue and stop the suspect vessel.
During the pursuit the crew of the smuggling vessel was observed throwing bales overboard. They were given verbal and visual orders to stop, when they failed to do so warning shots were used and the vessel's operators finally complied.
A boarding team from Gallatin arrived in their over-the-horizon pursuit boat. Once on scene with the go-fast, they attempted to establish the nationality of the vessel, but the suspected smugglers would not provide one. As a result, the vessel was determined to be without nationality and subject to U.S. jurisdiction. A boarding commenced and the five Colombian men were eventually taken into Coast Guard custody.
Throughout the chase Van Der Zaan maneuvered in support of Gallatin and also launched their embarked helicopter to track the smuggling vessel. The crew of Van Der Zann was also able to locate and recover the 106 jettisoned bales.
The suspects and drugs were all brought on board Gallatin where they remain. They eventually will be turned over for prosecution by the U.S. Attorney's Officer for the Middle District of Florida as part of Operation PANAMA EXPRESS.
The earlier case began late Friday night, about 130 miles north of Colombia when Van Der Zaan and its embarked helicopter began tracking a suspicious go-fast vessel.
The Dutch ship and helicopter team were able to stop the go-fast and an embarked U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment boarded the vessel, which was determined to be without nationality. During the boarding, the helicopter crew located what later turned out to be 1,750 pounds of cocaine in the water believed to have been abandoned by the go-fast crew.
Van Der Zaan recovered the contraband and four suspected smugglers were taken into custody. The suspects were later transferred to the USS Boone for transport to Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where they were turned over to Drug Enforcement Administration agents. They too will be prosecuted under Operation PANAMA EXPRESS.
For the crew of Gallatin and its HITRON helicopter detachment, this is their fourth major seizure in less than six weeks. During that period they have seized more than 19,500 pounds of cocaine with an import value of $624 million while detaining 18 suspected smugglers who now face prosecution in the United States.
Additionally, they stopped a fifth suspicious go-fast two weeks ago but did not locate any contraband. The go-fast and its crew of Colombian Nationals were turned over to the Colombian government for investigation.
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