The frigate Gary is coming up big on its final cruise.
The frigate seized roughly 11,500 pounds of cocaine in early March, the biggest drug bust off Central America's west coast in six years, ship officials said in a Friday release.
An embarked The ship's embarked SH-60B Seahawk crew with Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light, Det. 4, spotted the crew of aboard the coastal freighter jettisoning packages into the water and relayed that back to the frigate, which launched its small boat. The packages tested positive for cocaine. The ship's boarding team and Coast Guard law enforcement detachment searched the vessel, with the LEDET assuming control of the narco-freighter, the release said.
"This particular interdiction called for a much larger 'footprint' than we have typically needed to conduct routine operations," said Cmdr. Steven McDowell, the Gary's commanding officer, in the release. "It is situations like this where superb training and flawless execution are critical to success. The crew absolutely delivered."
The Gary also got help from the Coast Guard high endurance cutter Boutwell and the Canadian navy coastal defense vessel Whitehorse, the release said.
The interdiction marks another success for the Gary, which seized roughly 315 pounds in February. The latest is the ship's 10th interdiction for a total of nearly 26,000 pounds of cocaine.
