Welcome | Drug Interdiction | Living Marine Resources | Alien Migrant Interdiction | Current Reports |
Other Federal Agencies | Law Enforcement School | USCG Boarding Policy |
Ocean Guardian: Fisheries Enforcement Strategic Plan | Migrant Interdiction Statistics | Bibliography | Law Enforcement Jobs
The Coast Guard is the lead federal agency for
maritime drug interdiction and shares lead responsibility for air interdiction
with the U.S.
Customs Service. As such, it is a key player in combating the flow of
illegal drugs to the United States. The Coast Guard's mission is to reduce the
supply of drugs from the source by denying smugglers the use of air and maritime
routes in the Transit Zone, a six million square mile area, including the
Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and Eastern Pacific. In meeting the challenge of
patrolling this vast area, the Coast Guard coordinates closely with other
federal agencies and countries within the region to disrupt and deter the flow
of illegal drugs. In addition to deterrence, Coast Guard drug interdiction
accounts for nearly 52% of all U.S. government seizures of cocaine each year.
For Fiscal Year 2002 the rate of Coast Guard cocaine seizures alone had an
estimated import value of approximately $3.9 billion.
Counter-drug smuggling mission background
In 1870, Chinese immigrants became the first known drug smugglers when they
began smuggling opium in merchant ship cargoes and baggage. Since then, drug
smuggling by maritime routes has grown in size, scope and sophistication as
demand skyrocketed. For example, around the turn of the century, when cocaine
use was first in vogue, a relatively limited amount of the population was
directly affected by the problems of cocaine abuse. But in later years, as the
drugs of choice shifted from cocaine to heroin and opium, then later to
marijuana and back to cocaine, drug smugglers began utilizing maritime sea and
air routes to transport larger shipments of drugs to the U.S. For nearly a
century, the maritime drug smuggling business slowly evolved while the Coast
Guard focused its attention on the major events of the day, including World War
I, Prohibition, World War II, the Korean and Vietnam wars.
During the 1920's Congress tasked the Coast
Guard with enforcing the 18th
Amendment, necessitating a dramatic increase in resources and funding for the
Coast Guard. The massive effort needed to curtail the substantial level of
alcohol smuggling required the single largest appropriation for personnel and
new ship construction in its history. In addition, the Navy
transferred more than 20 WWI-era destroyers and minesweepers for conversion to
the Coast Guard's battle with rum-runners, which ended with the 21st Amendment
repealing Prohibition. The Coast Guard's unique expertise in countering
smuggling operations also came into play during the Vietnam War, when the Navy
asked for our expertise to support "Operation Market Time," an
intensive multi-year campaign to stop the Communist flow of arms and supplies by
sea. The Coast Guard utilized its expertise in stopping smuggling while
facilitating legitimate commerce. Our patrol
boats and cutters patrolled 1,200 miles of coastline and had to contend with
more than 60,000 junks and sampans. The Coast Guard and Navy's
success in "Operation Market Time," substantially reduced the amount
of at- sea smuggling, forcing the Viet Cong to use the longer and more difficult
land route of the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail.
Shortly after the war in Vietnam ended, the Coast Guard found itself fighting
another war--a war that is still going on today with a determined, well-financed
opposition. In the early 1970's maritime drug smuggling became a much more
significant problem for the Coast Guard and we began making seizures while
engaged in other operations, like Search
and Rescue and Fisheries
Law Enforcement. 1973 saw a dramatic increase in smuggling attempts and the
Coast Guard conducted its first Coast Guard-controlled seizure on March 8, 1973,
when the USCGC
Dauntless boarded a 38-foot sports fisherman, the Big L and arrested its
master and crew, with more than a ton of marijuana on board. Since then, the
Coast Guard has seized countless tons of marijuana and cocaine. Since Fiscal
Year 1997 to present, the Coast Guard has seized 806,469 pounds of cocaine and
333,285 pounds of marijuana.
FOIA | Privacy Statement | Tactical Law Enforcement Teams | Coast Guard Investigative Service |
USCG Publications/Instructions Online
Email questions, comments or suggestions.
![]() Click here for jobs or Call 1-800-GET-USCG (1-800-438-8724). |
![]() |
Updated on 07/14/2004