Two Kingston-class coastal defence vessels returned to CFB Esquimalt following a seven-week sail to Central America as part of a joint operation with the U.S. Coast Guard to curb the trafficking of drugs, weapons, money, and people in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean.
On Wednesday, Sept. 25, HMCS Yellowknife and HMCS Edmonton arrived to the base after hunting suspected traffickers at sea and seizing suspected cocaine during Operation CARRIBE since early August.
Lieutenant-Commander (LCdr) Stuart MacDonald, commanding officer of HMCS Edmonton, told reporters the ship stopped in San Diego to pick up a law enforcement attachment of the U.S. Coast Guard, then spent time in the eastern Pacific near Mexico searching for potential targets.
"The most important thing about that first patrol was getting the law enforcement attachment integrated in our ship's company, in our routine, doing some training with them," said LCdr MacDonald. "We weren't able to find anyone in that first patrol."
They then stopped at the port in Manzanillo, Mexico, to meet with the Americans and the Mexican Navy before embarking on another week-and-a-half-long patrol.
On the second day of the patrol, around midnight, the Royal Canadian Navy and the U.S. Coast guard seized about 1,450 kilograms of suspected cocaine, or about $44 million worth of drugs from a vessel South of Acapulco, Mexico.
The U.S. Coast Guard says HMCS Edmonton had mechanical troubles with one of their inflatable boats, so the Yellowknife crew chased the vessel carrying the suspected drugs and managed to intercept the boat and its crew.
"The seaworthy of a lot of these vessels is hit or miss," he said. "There were three people embarked [on the vessel] who were stricken in the water as well, so Yellowknife embarked them as Safety of Life At Sea survivors to ensure they were safely returned ashore as their vessel eventually sank."
LCdr MacDonald said the bust was "on the high side" compared to past years. Canada has deployed maritime vessels, aircraft, and personnel to the region as part of Operation CARIBBE since 2006.
"[U.S. Coast Guard and the Mexican Navy] find it extremly valuable for us to be participants because when you look at the math of drug smuggling, [$44 million] is a lot of money and it's usually [going] to countries that are very poor so it's pretty easy for cartels to bribe or encourage people to run their drugs so it takes a big effort to stop it," said LCdr MacDonald.
