The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Campbell (WMEC 909) returned to Newport, R.I., on Monday after completing a 63-day patrol in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific Ocean, where they interdicted $91 million worth of illicit narcotics.
Operating under the Joint Interagency Task Force – South (JIATF-S), Campbell’s mission focused on disrupting drug trafficking operations. During the patrol, the crew seized approximately 8,061 pounds of cocaine and detained two suspected drug traffickers after intercepting six panga boats suspected of smuggling narcotics.
In addition to counter-narcotics efforts, Campbell’s crew provided care for two search and rescue survivors and maintained custody of 49 suspected smugglers apprehended at sea. On Jan. 27, the crew offloaded the seized drugs at Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and transferred 26 suspects to federal authorities for prosecution.
Between January 2024 and February 2025, Campbell’s crew transferred a total of 87 suspected smugglers to federal law enforcement, stemming from 24 interdictions by U.S. Coast Guard cutters in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea.
During the deployment, Campbell collaborated with multiple Coast Guard assets, including a law enforcement detachment from Coast Guard Tactical Law Enforcement Team – South, based in Opa Locka, Fla. The cutter also conducted joint patrols and at-sea transfers with Coast Guard Cutter Waesche (WMSL 751), Coast Guard Cutter James (WMSL 754), and Coast Guard Cutter Stone (WMSL 758). These efforts, along with support from international and interagency partners, aimed to deter and disrupt illicit trafficking operations.
Before returning to Newport, Campbell’s crew conducted three days of helicopter deck landing qualifications with aircrews from the Coast Guard Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron, Jacksonville, Fla. The cutter also hosted nearly 60 personnel from other Coast Guard units for shipboard helicopter operations training to enhance fleet-wide mission readiness.
The Coast Guard’s counter-narcotics mission in the Eastern Pacific falls under the authority of the Eleventh District, headquartered in Alameda, Calif.
Campbell, a 270’ Famous-class medium endurance cutter, operates under the U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area command based in Portsmouth, Va. Its primary missions include counter-drug and migrant interdiction, enforcement of federal fishery laws, and search and rescue operations in the Western Hemisphere.
