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Maine-based Coast Guard crew seizes 12,000 lbs. of cocaine, saves 3 sea turtles

Coast Guard officials say the 100 man crew disrupted six narcotic smuggling rings off the coast of Central and South America.

Crewmembers from Coast Guard Cutter Campbell, homeported in Kittery, Maine, rescued two sea turtles entangled in abandoned fishing gear May 5, 2018, in the eastern Pacific Ocean. (Ctsy U.S. Coast Guard)

KITTERY (NEWS CENTER Maine) — A Coast Guard ship and crew from Kittery returned to Maine after seizing more than 12,000 pounds of cocaine worth $209 million and detaining 24 suspected smugglers.

Coast Guard officials say the 100-man crew of the USCG Cutter Campbell disrupted six narcotic smuggling rings off the coast of Central and South America.

Crewmembers from Coast Guard Cutter Campbell, homeported in Kittery, Maine, rescued two sea turtles entangled in abandoned fishing gear May 5, 2018, in the eastern Pacific Ocean. (Ctsy U.S. Coast Guard)

The effort was part of the Joint Interagency Task Force-South, which is an international and interagency effort to dismantle criminal networks.

A pallet of cocaine aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Campbell. The Campbell crew was responsible for the interdiction of six of the seven cases, seizing an estimated 12,000 pounds while on patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. ( Ctsy  U.S. Coast Guard) 

Officials say Campbell's crew also rescued three sea turtles that were tangled in fishing gear.

The crew on Coast Guard Cutter Campbell captured this photo of a low profile drug vessel on May 24, 2018 during their deployment to the Eastern Pacific. The crew seized about 13,000 pounds of cocaine. ( Ctsy U.S. Coast Guard photo)

Campbell is a 29-year-old Famous-Class cutter homeported in Kittery.