Coast Guard Nabs 2,500 Pounds of Pot

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Venturous is scheduled to return home, after a successful patrol in the Caribbean Sea included the interdiction of 107 bales of marijuana.

During the 54-day patrol, Venturous crewmembers worked closely with numerous Coast Guard cutters and the Dominican Republic Navy to conduct counter-narcotic and migrant-interdiction operations in the Caribbean Sea.

Venturous crewmembers interdicted a vessel in the Caribbean Sea with four people and 107 bales of marijuana aboard.  The marijuana, with an estimated street value of $1.6 million, was interdicted after the Venturous deployed its small boat crew to pursue the vessel. The Coast Guard stopped the vessel using warning shots and then disabling fire directed at the vessel's engines after the people aboard the vessel ignored orders to heave to.

The marijuana and the vessel were seized by the Venturous crew and offloaded to authorities in Miami.

Venturous crewmembers also assisted the Haitian Coast Guard when a grossly overloaded vessel with 142 Haitian migrants was spotted off the coast of Haiti.  Venturous crewmembers escorted the vessel until it was met by the Haitian Coast Guard and was safely returned to port.

"It was my first patrol onboard Venturous and I am very proud of the crew and their ability to work together to master a multitude of missions," said Cmdr. Ted St. Pierre, the Venturous commanding officer.  "Additionally, it was exciting to work with the Dominican Republic Navy and our partner agencies in our efforts to curtail drug trafficking."

Venturous is a 210-foot Reliance class cutter homeported in St. Petersburg, Fla. and has a crew of 85 officers and enlisted personnel.

The U.S. Coast Guard, working closely with its partner law-enforcement agencies, seized more than 276,203 pounds of cocaine and 63,184 pounds of marijuana in 2009.