The crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Reliance poses for a photo in front of approximately $52 million in illicit narcotics on the cutter’s flight deck in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, Feb. 13, 2024. Reliance returned to its homeport in Pensacola, Fla., on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. (U.S. Coast Guard)

Two Coast Guard cutter crews returned to their Florida homeports during the weekend after two months at sea rounding up drug traffickers.

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Thetis returned to its homeport in Key West on Friday following a 62-day patrol in the Central Caribbean Sea, and USCGC Reliance returned Saturday to Pensacola following 57 days at sea in the Eastern Pacific.

Thetis, a 270-foot Famous-class cutter with a crew of 100, worked in support of the Joint Interagency Task Force-South to deter illegal narcotics trafficking in the Central Caribbean. Accompanied by a MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from the Coast Guard Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron and support from the USS Farragut, Thetis detained two traffickers and interdicted approximately 2,646 pounds of cocaine with an estimated street value of $34.8 million, according to a Coast Guard news release.

“The cases we encountered on this patrol emphasize the importance of collaboration across departments and agencies in deterring the flow of illegal narcotics into the United States,” Thetis Master Chief Petty Officer AJ Gibson said.

U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Robert Coy, a damage controlman assigned to Coast Guard Cutter Thetis, passes bales of illicit drugs interdicted by the unit’s law enforcement team, Jan. 30, 2024, in the Central Caribbean Sea. (Jordan Russell/U.S. Coast Guard)

U.S. Coast Guard members assigned to Coast Guard Cutter Thetis and an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from the Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron execute in-flight refueling evolutions, Jan. 31, 2024, in the Central Caribbean Sea. (Jordan Russell/U.S. Coast Guard)

Reliance, also part of Joint Interagency Task Force-South, stopped two drug-trafficking ventures, detaining six suspected traffickers and preventing nearly 4,000 pounds of cocaine and 5,400 pounds of marijuana, worth more than $57 million, from entering the United States, according to a Coast Guard news release. The drugs were seized in the international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

“I am incredibly proud of the tenacity, persistence, and talent of this Reliance crew,” said Cmdr. Brian Chapman, Reliance’s commanding officer. “The crew trained hard for this mission and proved their readiness.”

Reliance, a 210-foot, medium endurance cutter with a crew of 71, conducted an at-sea case transfer with the Ecuadorian Navy, and it made port calls in Ecuador, Costa Rica, Mexico and Panama. The cutter crossed into the Southern Hemisphere, prompting a time-honored equatorial crossing tradition for the Reliance crew. Reliance also conducted aviation training with the Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile and sailed with Coast Guard Cutter Diligence to commemorate the cutters’ 60th anniversaries this summer.

The crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Reliance interdicts a low-profile vessel carrying more than $5 million in illicit narcotics in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, Feb. 15, 2024. (U.S. Coast Guard)