HMCS Edmonton returned to CFB Esquimalt on Friday after a two-and-a-half month deployment where the crew helped seize an estimated 755 kilograms of cocaine off the coast of Mexico.
The cocaine, which has a street value of about $49.5 million Cdn, was found when Edmonton and two U.S. Coast Guard ships intercepted a drug-smuggling vessel on April 8.
Edmonton left Feb. 13 to take part in Operation Caribbe, Canada’s contribution to the U.S.-led Enhanced Counternarcotics Operations under Joint Interagency Task Force South.
The Royal Canadian Navy has carried out Operation Caribbe since 2006, sending coastal-defence vessels like Edmonton and Aurora long-range patrol aircraft to the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.
Family and friends gathered on Y Jetty to meet the ship on Friday morning.
Lt.-Cmdr. Tyler Smith, Edmonton’s commanding officer, said the crew worked hard to successfully complete the “fast-paced and complex” effort that ended with finding the drugs.
“We were well-prepared to step in and contribute Canada’s part in Operation Caribbe,” Smith said.
Seven people are now in the custody of the U.S. Department of Justice on suspicion of maritime drug trafficking, while the captured vessel was disposed of at sea because it posed a threat to navigation.
Last year, HMCS Yellowknife took part in Operation Caribbe and worked with the U.S. Coast Guard to intercept about 800 kilograms of cocaine.
A hole was drilled in the intercepted vessel and about 150 kg of cocaine was removed before the ship became too unstable to remain afloat — leading to a decision to scuttle it to keep the remaining cocaine from scattering.
Canadian ships have worked with the United States to disrupt the flow of close to 4,600 kg of drugs in international waters since November 2021, and in the past 15 years the Canadian Armed Forces have been involved on the seizure of 120 tonnes of cocaine.
The efforts have curbed the supply of illicit drugs and disrupted organized crime in South and Central America, the Department of National Defence said.
jbell@timescolonist.com
