The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces have seized over 44,550 pounds of cocaine and 3,880 pounds of marijuana, worth approximately $509.9 million, in a major operation in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. This operation, part of the Panama Express Strike Force mission (PANEX), involved multiple U.S. agencies collaborating to dismantle international drug trafficking networks.
The PANEX mission, guided by intelligence and led by prosecutors, aims to disrupt large-scale drug trafficking and related activities. Partners include U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida. These efforts resulted in 11 interdictions and the arrest of 34 suspected drug traffickers, believed to be connected to groups like the Clan del Golfo, the Sinaloa Cartel, and the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación.
These operations help cut off more than half a billion dollars in illegal income to these powerful crime organizations, while also supplying crucial evidence and intelligence for future operations. U.S. Coast Guard personnel carried out interdictions under the Eleventh Coast Guard District in Alameda, California. Seized drugs and suspects are then turned over for further investigation by agencies including ICE HSI, the DEA, and the FBI, while prosecution falls to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Key assets in these missions included the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mohawk, the Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron Jacksonville, the Tactical Law Enforcement Team-Pacific, and aircrews from U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations. The Joint Interagency Task Force-South also supported the operations.
Several operations were highlighted, such as the January 5 interception by the Coast Guard Cutter James of a vessel 260 miles off Ecuador with over 2,025 pounds of cocaine aboard, and the January 6 interception of three go-fast vessels resulting in the capture of nine suspected drug traffickers and the seizure of more than 13,960 pounds of cocaine.
PANEX continues to focus on stopping the transnational flow of illegal drugs by sea, addressing not only cocaine and marijuana but also the broader issue of fentanyl trafficking impacting U.S. safety.
