The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Resolute, a 210-foot Reliance-class cutter, homeported in St. Petersburg, on-load a ton of marijuana on March 17 that was interdicted from two suspected drug smuggling vessels during a 71-day deployment in the Caribbean Sea. The marijuana, worth an estimated $2.2 million, was offloaded Tuesday in St. Petersburg for disposal. Ens. Sarah Ritchie U.S. Coast Guard
Coast Guard crews offloaded more than one ton of marijuana in St. Petersburg on Tuesday after it was previously seized from vessels in the Caribbean Sea, according to a news release.
Crew members of the Coast Guard Cutter Resolute along with members of a Customs and Border Protection aircraft interdicted two suspected drug smuggling vessels on March 17. They seized a combined 2,600 pounds of marijuana and detained seven people.
The drugs were worth an estimated $2.2 million wholesale value, according to the Coast Guard.
The 81-person crew aboard the Resolute recently returned from a 71-day deployment that included participation in Operation Riptide, focusing on counter-drug operations in the Caribbean.
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