McClusky Makes Major Drug Bust
Navy NewsStand
Story Number: NNS050928-09
Release Date: 9/28/2005 3:07:00 PM
By Ensign Josh W. Duggan, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command Public Affairs
ABOARD USS MCCLUSKY (NNS) -- A high-speed open ocean chase resulted in the seizure of 3.5 tons of cocaine and the detention of five suspected smugglers during USS McClusky’s (FFG 41) first drug bust in the Eastern Pacific Aug. 30.
The ship is deployed in the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) area of responsibility (AOR) as part of a Joint Inter-Agency Task Force conducting various operations to support SOUTHCOM’s mission.
Working with an embarked Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) and Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron (Light) (HSL) 45 Det. 3, McClusky captured a "go-fast" vessel. Go-fasts are high-speed boats specifically built for smuggling drugs that transport illicit cargo ultimately bound for the United States.
The crews seized 3.5 tons of cocaine with a street value of nearly $100 million.
According to McClusky’s Navigator, Lt. Matt King of Bellevue, Neb., “Our persistence paid off in running down this go-fast.”
When asked what he thought about McClusky’s first bust in the area, Seaman Noel Cabral from Pomona, Calif., summed it up by saying, “This was the reason I joined the Navy. I know that we are making a difference by saving lives and keeping drugs off our streets."
McClusky is an Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate, homeported in San Diego.
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