Coast Guard secures nearly $94 million in illegal drugs, offloads 29 suspected smugglers

The United States Coast Guard in Florida on Tuesday offloaded nearly $94 million in illegal drugs and 29 suspected drug smugglers as part of its Operation Pacific Viper.

The Coast Guard Seneca crew was deployed to help with Operation Pacific Viper, which is a partnership between the Coast Guard and the Navy, designed to send forces to cut off drugs and human smuggling operations in the Eastern Pacific before the operations reach the United States. 

Seneca's crew offloaded more than 12,750 pounds of cocaine and marijuana into Port Everglades, but information on the 29 alleged drug smugglers was not immediately available.

“I’m incredibly proud of the teamwork and adaptability displayed by my crew and our partners during this patrol to stop illicit drug flow from entering the United States,” Capt. Lee Jones, the commander of Seneca, said in a statement. “Our crews sacrifice time away from their families, and when necessary, put themselves in harm’s way to secure our borders and protect the American people.” 

The Coast Guard has seized a total of 80,000 pounds of cocaine since August and the Trump administration has seized a record-breaking one million pounds of cocaine during fiscal year 2025.

The offload comes the same day that federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in Miami announced they have arrested over 400 illegal migrants during a week-long operation. 

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.