Stopping Drug Smugglers at Sea Takes Precision, Not Luck. Here's the Coast Guard's Playbook.

Stopping drug smugglers at sea takes precision, not luck. Here's the Coast Guard's playbook.

TKUS Coast Guard photoThe US Coast Guard has a strict step-by-step process for stopping and boarding drug vessels.Its personnel train for a variety of situations, including needing to shoot out boat engines.Everything the Coast Guard gathers in an interdiction is helping build a case for prosecuting alleged traffickers.USCG TACLET SOUTH OPA-LOCKA, Florida — At a time when a new war on drugs is brewing in the Caribbean, Business Insider grabbed a…

Inside the ‘ship in a box’ that Coast Guard crews use to ready for boat battles on the high seas

TK Screenshots of US Coast Guard video by Petty Officer 2nd Class Derek Dodge The Coast Guard uses a mock ship to help train its personnel for close-quarters combat and drug interdictions. The “ship in a box” can be customized for different mission sets and objectives. In some scenarios, actor traffickers are apprehended quietly, while others involve force. USCG TACLET SOUTH OPA-LOCKA, Florida — Inside the Coast Guard’s “ship in a box,” elite T…