The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Resolute unload interdicted narcotics onto Sector St. Petersburg South Moorings, Fla., Oct. 23, 2024. (Riley Perkofski/U.S. Coast Guard)

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Resolute returned to its homeport of St. Petersburg, Fla., on Wednesday, bearing a sizable haul of contraband and five suspected smugglers, according to a U.S. Coast Guard news release.

The crew offloaded nearly 10,000 pounds of cocaine and nearly 5,500 pounds of marijuana, worth an estimated $115 million. The suspects were transferred to the custody of the Department of Justice to face prosecution.

The Resolute was deployed in the Caribbean Sea for 38 days to support Joint Interagency Task Force-South. JIATF-South is an interagency effort that works with partner countries to fight maritime drug smuggling.

The illicit haul was obtained in different tranches throughout the deployment, with the cross-border collaboration characteristic of JIATF-South on clear display from the beginning.

Early in the patrol, the Resolute dispatched two small boat crews to pursue a go-fast vessel — commonly known as a speedboat — with the help of a Dutch aircraft, ultimately forcing it to jettison its contraband.

In another incident two weeks later, the Resolute’s crew boarded a suspicious-looking vessel in the central Caribbean and discovered over 1,600 pounds of cocaine. The press release said both incidents combined prevented about $58.1 million in contraband from reaching the U.S.

The release also said the Royal Netherlands Navy ship HNLMS Holland transferred over 5,000 pounds of seized marijuana, over 4,400 pounds of cocaine and suspected smugglers to the Resolute to face prosecution in the U.S.

The deployment was disrupted by the two major hurricanes that struck the southeastern U.S. in September and October, according to the release. Crew were allowed to return home early to see their families in the wake of Helene, but they had to depart almost immediately as Milton approached Florida. Resolute then supported offshore search and rescue efforts with the cutters Thetis and Pablo Valent.

The Resolute’s mission also saw it intercept an unseaworthy and overcrowded vessel of 181 migrants near Haiti, in collaboration with the Coast Guard cutters William Trump and Reliance.

The Resolute is a Reliance-class medium endurance cutter. The 210-foot cutters’ primary missions involve drug enforcement, migrant interdiction, search and rescue operations and enforcing federal fishery laws.

The Resolute’s return came just days after another USCG cutter, the 154-foot fast response class Joseph Napier, arrived in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico to transfer custody of six suspected smugglers to federal agents and offload $3.5 million in seized narcotics.