US Coast Guard’s 20,000-pound cocaine bust sets new record

By Serdar Dincel

ISTANBUL (AA) - A US Coast Guard vessel intercepted over 20,000 pounds (approx. 9,070 kg) of cocaine from one ship this week, marking the biggest at-sea seizure in nearly two decades.

According to the Coast Guard, the crew of the Munro—a Pacific-patrolling cutter based in Alameda, California—made the seizure during counter-narcotics operations in the Eastern Pacific.

The seizure occurred during Operation Pacific Viper, a Trump administration initiative aimed at disrupting the flow of illegal drugs across the Pacific Ocean.

"Our maritime fighting force is leading America’s drug interdiction operations, protecting the Homeland, and keeping deadly drugs out of American communities. This is where defense of America begins," the agency wrote on US social media company X on Saturday.