The U.S. Coast Guard USCGC Charles Sexton, based in Key West, Florida, seized approximately 2,380 pounds of marijuana valued at $2.8 million on Saturday after intercepting a suspicious drug trafficking vessel about 80 miles southwest of Great Inagua, in the Bahamas, according to the official statement.
Upon boarding the vessel, the crew of the Charles Sexton found 97 bundles of the substance and arrested three individuals traveling on board.
The operation was carried out in coordination with the government of the Bahamas and received logistical support from the Homeland Security Cutter-Ocean (HSC-Ocean), a program launched in June 2026 whereby the Coast Guard contracted Bordelon Marine to operate a commercial vessel that supplies the cutters directly at sea, eliminating the need for them to return to port.
Members of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) also participated, taking custody of both the three detainees and the confiscated drugs for judicial processing.
The unloading of the illicit cargo and the arrests took place this Monday in Coral Harbour, Bahamas.
Lieutenant Peter Fager, commander of the Charles Sexton, emphasized the value of regional cooperation in operations of this kind.
"This interception highlights the strength of our partnership and our shared commitment to combating transnational organized crime in the region," Fager stated.
"Working together, we continue to dismantle illegal trafficking and protect the security and stability of our maritime borders," he emphasized.
The Charles Sexton is a Sentinel-class fast response cutter that reaches speeds exceeding 28 knots and has a five-day endurance, making the logistical support from the HSC-Ocean particularly valuable for extending its operational time in the area.
The area of Great Inagua, located at the southern tip of the Bahamas, is a strategic corridor for drug trafficking that connects Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba, and the Bahamas with southern Florida, where historically between 10% and 15% of the cocaine detected on its way from South America to the United States has passed.
This seizure adds to a series of drug enforcement operations carried out by the Coast Guard in the Caribbean this year.
In June, an Ecuadorian drug boat was detected in the Caribbean and 3,960 pounds of marijuana were seized; in May, 3,200 pounds of the same substance were confiscated off the coast of Haiti; and in April, the USCGC Resolute offloaded more than 2,570 pounds of cocaine valued at 19.3 million dollars in Miami Beach.
The largest seizure in the history of the Coast Guard took place in August 2025, when over 76,000 pounds of drugs were confiscated in Port Everglades, valued at 473 million dollars, marking a turning point in the escalation of anti-narcotics operations in the region.
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