Portsmouth-based cutter claims one of two drug busts

Two Coast Guard cutters, including one based in Portsmouth, seized nearly 8,000 pounds of cocaine last month in two separate busts off the coast of Panama.

The first happened March 31, after a U.S. Customs and Border Protection P-3 Orion aircraft on patrol out of Jacksonville, Fla., spotted suspicious activity from a high-speed vessel, according to a release.

The Portsmouth-based cutter Forward set out with a helicopter crew to intercept the vessel. The helicopter fired warning shots. When the vessel's crew didn't heed, the helicopter used disabling fire and brought it to a stop.

A boarding team from the Forward found nearly 2,900 pounds of cocaine on board and detained the five people on the vessel.

In a second incident, the Alameda, Calif.-based cutter Morgenthau spotted a vessel on March 19, the release said. A helicopter fired warning shots and, again, the vessel failed to respond and the helicopter disabled it. A boarding crew from the cutter found more than 5,000 pounds of cocaine and two AK-47 assault rifles on board and detained the vessel's five-member crew.

The 10 total suspects and a portion of the cocaine were turned over to Panamanian authorities.

The nearly 8,000-pound seizure "is about average, but it's always good to get any cocaine off the streets," said Petty Officer 1st Class Jennifer Johnson, a Coast Guard spokeswoman in Miami. "Anytime we can put some bad people behind bars is a good thing."

Johnson said cocaine sells for about $17,000 a pound in Miami, which would make the seized drugs worth about $136 million.

Matthew Jones, (757) 446-2949, matthew.jones@pilotonline.com