A U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Air and Marine Operations (AMO) P-3 Airborne Early Warning aircraft crew was conducting operations in international waters off the coast of Costa Rica and detected a suspicious 28-foot panga last month.
The aircraft crew maintained surveillance and coordinated with Joint Interagency Task Force South to intercept the vessel.
The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) arrested three individuals and seized 46 bales of contraband totaling 2,028 pounds of cocaine.
AMO operates maritime patrol aircraft from Jacksonville, Florida, and Corpus Christi, Texas, to conduct long-range aerial patrols and surveillance missions along the U.S. borders and in drug transit zones in Central and South America.
P-3 aircrews detect, monitor, and disrupt smuggling activities before they reach our shores.
AMO is a federal law enforcement organization dedicated to serving and protecting the American people through advanced aeronautical and maritime capabilities.
AMO interdicts unlawful people and cargo approaching U.S. borders, investigates criminal networks and provides domain awareness in the air and maritime environments, and responds to contingencies and national tasking.
With approximately 1,800 federal agents and mission support personnel, 240 aircraft, and 300 marine vessels operating throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands, AMO serves as the nation’s experts in airborne and maritime law enforcement.
(An overview of CBP Air and Marine enforcement and security operations from San Diego to Puerto Rico. Marine agents explain the unique capabilities of the their operations and skills that separate them from all other federal law enforcement agency operations. Courtesy of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and YouTube)
In Fiscal Year 2017, AMO enforcement actions resulted in the approximate seizure or disruption of:
- 269,790 pounds of cocaine
- 384,230 pounds of marijuana
- 5,721 pounds of methamphetamine
- 1,089 weapons, and $26.1 million
- As well as 2,573 arrests and 37,009 apprehensions of illegal aliens
