The United States Coast Guard and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized $5.6 million in cocaine in two operations off the coast of Florida in February 2026. The seizures highlighted the close collaboration of U.S. Department of Homeland Security agencies in tackling drug smuggling in the southeastern approaches to the U.S. “The Coast Guard is in the business of saving lives, and every kilogram of these drugs kept off our streets represents lives saved,” said Lt. Justin Dadlani, commanding officer, Station Fort Lauderdale. “I couldn’t be more proud of the professionalism of the crew and our continued partnerships with our partners with Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations.”
A Coast Guard Station Fort Lauderdale law enforcement boat crew along with a CBP Office of Field Investigations K-9 unit intercepted a cabin cruiser suspected of drug smuggling near the buoy off the state’s eastern coast near Fort Lauderdale on February 9. Two days later, a Fort Lauderdale Station law enforcement boat crew intercepted a second cabin cruiser about 11 kilometers off Port Everglades on the state’s southwestern coast. The two operations, with the support of Homeland Security Investigations agents, netted 338 kilograms of narcotics, according to a Coast Guard news release. “We are part of a whole-of-government approach to secure our borders by dismantling foreign terrorist organizations and transnational criminal organizations, including narco-trafficking and human smuggling operations,” the release stated.
The interdictions followed an interagency training exercise in December 2025 that strengthened collaboration between the Fort Lauderdale Station Coast Guard, CBP and DHS Investigations in which K-9 units trained with Coast Guard law enforcement detachments, according to a Fort Lauderdale Station Facebook post.
According to the most recent statistics available, the Coast Guard had a record-breaking fiscal year 2025 in counter-drug operations, seizing 231,332 kilograms of cocaine and other illicit drugs with an estimated street value of over $7.2 billion. The seizures primarily were made in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean Sea.
“This record is a testament to the unwavering dedication of our crews, the strength of our inter-agency partnerships, and our commitment to taking the fight to the criminal networks far from our shores,” said Adm. Kevin Lunday, acting commandant of the Coast Guard in November 2025. “Every interdiction at sea is a strike against the transnational criminal organizations that threaten our security and poison our communities.”