Coast Guard
Coast Guard cutter offloads over $211 million of cocaine at Port Everglades
Stars and Stripes
June 1, 2025
The crew of USCGC Thetis poses for a group photo behind more than 28,500 pounds of seized drugs worth more than $211 million at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., May 29, 2025. (Diana Sherbs/U.S. Coast Guard)
U.S. Coast Guard cutter Thetis offloaded more than 28,500 pounds of cocaine at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale Fla., on Thursday, according to a service news release.
The seized contraband is worth an estimated $211.3 million and was the result of four interdictions in the Eastern Pacific by Thetis and an embarked MH-65 helicopter crew from Helicopter Interdiction Squadron based in Jacksonville, Fla.
“I could not be more proud of this crew and what they accomplished this patrol,” said Cmdr. Ryan Kelley, commanding officer of Thetis. “The more than 33,000 pounds of drugs seized by Thetis this patrol also represents the determination of a crew who continues to find a way to improvise, adapt, and overcome to keep an aging cutter in the fight and accomplish this mission.”
A USCGC Thetis crew member stacks a bale of cocaine on a pallet during a drug offload at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., May 29, 2025. (Diana Sherbs/U.S. Coast Guard)
USCGC Thetis crew members offload more than 28,500 pounds of seized drugs worth more than $211 million at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., May 29, 2025. (Diana Sherbs/U.S. Coast Guard)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Canine Enforcement Officer Nemo and his handler, Officer Jessie Rivera, inspect bales of cocaine during a drug offload at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., May 29, 2025. (Diana Sherbs/U.S. Coast Guard)
The crew of USCGC Thetis offloads more than 28,500 pounds of seized drugs worth more than $211 million at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., May 29, 2025. (Class Diana Sherbs/U.S. Coast Guard)
On May 10, the Thetis crew recovered 3,984 pounds of cocaine from a bale field approximately 660 miles south of Acapulco, Mexico.
On May 6, a crew on an embarked helicopter aboard the Thetis recovered 4,559 pounds of cocaine bales from two suspicious vessels who were throwing bales overboard approximately 575 miles southwest of Acapulco, Mexico.
On May 5, an embarked helicopter crew aboard the Thetis recovered 9,993 pounds of cocaine from a bale field approximately 475 miles southwest of Colima, Mexico.
On May 3, a maritime patrol aircraft located two suspicious vessels approximately 170 miles west of Mexico. Thetis’ crew interdicted the vessels and seized 4,630 pounds of cocaine.
USCGC Thetis is a 270-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in Key West, Fla., under U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area Command.