7.1 tons of cocaine unloaded from Alameda-based Coast Guard ship

Lt. William Singletary, a commissioned officer aboard Coast Guard Cutter Waesche, offloads contraband from the cutter at Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal in San Diego April 5, 2019. More than 7.1 tons of cocaine were seized during six separate interdictions off the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America by the Coast Guard cutters Active (WMEC-618), Steadfast (WMEC-623) and Waesche (WMSL-751). less Lt. William Singletary, a commissioned officer aboard Coast Guard Cutter Waesche, offloads contraband from the cutter at Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal in San Diego April 5, 2019. More than 7.1 tons of cocaine ... more Photo: Photo Courtesy Of U.S. Coast Guard/Petty Officer 2nd Class Joel Guzman Photo: Photo Courtesy Of U.S. Coast Guard/Petty Officer 2nd Class Joel Guzman Image 1 of / 15 Caption Close 7.1 tons of cocaine unloaded from Alameda-based Coast Guard ship 1 / 15 Back to Gallery

The crew from the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Waesche, who are based in Alameda along with the ship, unloaded 14,300 pounds of cocaine from the ship on Friday in San Diego, according to the Coast Guard. The cocaine was seized in international waters off of the Eastern Pacific Ocean from between February to late March.

"The offload that you see behind me, the bales of cocaine, represents a successful example of the cycle of justice," said Rear Admiral Nathan Moore, deputy commander of Coast Guard Pacific Area at a press conference about the drug seizure on Friday.

"This cycle of justice disrupts a cycle of crime which, left unchecked, fuels violence and instability that erodes our hemisphere's social and economic fabric and directly contributes to historically high numbers of drug related deaths in North America."

The Coast Guard posted a video with footage of the unloading of the cocaine to Twitter earlier Friday.

7.1 tons of cocaine! That's how much CGC Waesche's crew offloaded in San Diego today. Thanks to our partner agencies @CBP @DEAHQ @TheJusticeDept @DeptofDefense @DHSgov and other international, federal & local partners for helping to keep these dangerous drugs off our streets! pic.twitter.com/sBTHQqF5QS — USCGPacificSouthwest (@USCGPacificSW) April 5, 2019

The haul was the result of six different drug busts over the past two months off the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America by the Waesche and two other Coast Guard cutters, the Active and the Steadfast. Each ship was responsible for two of the six busts.

The Waesche was responsible for seizing the largest share of the drugs with approximately 2,874 kilograms of cocaine. The Steadfast seized approximately 2,350 kilograms of cocaine and the Active seized approximately 1,297 kilograms of cocaine.

The Waesche was most likely the chosen ship to unload all of the cocaine because it is the largest of the three ships. At 418-feet, the national security ship is nearly twice the size of the other two.

According to the Coast Guard, the agency has increased its presence in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Basin, which is where drugs are smuggled off of the coasts of South and Central America. The agency said that the 11th Coast Guard District, headquartered in Alameda, was responsible for the law enforcement phase of the counter-smuggling operations in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.