Nearly $300 million worth of cocaine destined for the streets was seized with the help of 19 Wing Comox crew..The amount of cocaine nabbed weighed in at three-tonnes and has an estimated value of more than $293 million, as first reported in the Comox Valley Record. No specific details were released..A 41-person air task force, including a dozen members from 407 Long Range Patrol Squadron at 19 Wing Comox, contributed to the bust..The seizure was part of Operation Caribbe, Canada’s involvement in U.S.-led counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean..The Canadian Armed Forces also send navy warships to the mission to find and track suspect vessels. The US Coast Guard law enforcement teams then intercept them before boarding and inspecting suspect ships..Operation Caribbe began in November 2006 and a crew from Comox assisted in a seizure of more than a tonne of cocaine headed for North America in the same operation just more than a year ago..Operation Caribbe began in 2010 and expanded with a memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Canada, which allows U.S. Coast Guard teams to operate from Canadian warships..Mike D’Amour is the British Columbia Bureau Chief for the Western Standard..,.mdamour@westernstandardonline.com
