July 19, 2005   SENATOR COLLINS APPLAUDS MAINE COAST GUARD CREW INVOLVED IN MAJOR COCAINE BUSTS Cutter Campbell based in Kittery; Intercepted more than five tons of cocaine in Carribean   Washington, DC - Senator Susan Collins today applauded the crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Campbell. On patrol since it left Kittery on May 18th, the crew successfully broke up two illegal drug shipments in the Caribbean Sea, seizing more than five tons of cocaine and detaining ten suspected smugglers in two separate busts. The Campbell is home-ported in Kittery at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. It returned home today for the first time since the busts. A member of Senator Collins’ staff today met the cutter to offer the Senator’s congratulations and rode with the crew into port. “The State of Maine can be proud of the Campbell crew for their work to keep us safe,” said Senator Collins. “This bust prevented more than five tons of cocaine from being distributed in the U.S. The drugs would have sold on the street for around $350 million - which would have provided significant resources to the narcotics network, which has also been found to finance terrorism.” In a bust on June 10th, the Cutter Campbell helped to intercept a ship that was suspected of smuggling contraband, during a nighttime chase that covered hundreds of square miles. A helicopter from the Campbell fired warning shots at the suspect boat and eventually shot out the boat’s engines to force it to stop. The suspects threw at least 4000 pounds of cocaine off the boat during the chase, which were later recovered by the Coast Guard. Five suspected smugglers were detained. In a second bust on July 6th, lookouts on the Campbell spotted the crew of a fishing vessel throwing bales of contraband in the water, which later turned out to be cocaine. The suspect boat tried to flee the scene, but the Campbell followed it on a three-hour pursuit that ended when the Campbell crew fired warning shots for the boat to stop. The Coast Guard recovered 6700 pounds of cocaine in this bust and arrested five suspected smugglers. In addition to the drug busts, the Campbell crew intercepted and rescued 14 Cubans who were attempting to illegally migrate to the U.S. The Campbell stopped them 20 miles south of Key West, Florida.   ###   Printable Version   « previous Press Release next Press Release »   1998 - 1999 - 2000 - 2001 - 2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2005 - 2006 - 2007 July 2005 Press Releases   July 29 - Senator Collins Stresses Need For DHS Guidance And Oversight Of Visa Security Program   July 29 - Senator Collins’ Statement On GAO’s Paul Posner   July 27 - Senator Collins To Introduce Chemical Security Legislation In Fall   July 27 - Senate Homeland Security Leaders Call For Increased Mass Transit Security Funding   July 26 - Senator Collins’ Legislation Stops U.S. Companies from Using Foreign Subsidiaries to Do Business with Terrorist States   July 22 - Senators Collins & Lieberman Criticize TSA for Violating Privacy Laws While Testing Passenger Prescreening System   July 22 - Senators Collins, Lieberman Launch Investigation into Mass Transit Security in the U.S.   July 21 - Senator Collins Says Move By China To Revalue Yuan Is Good First Step, More Needs To Be Done To Meet Fair Trade Standards   July 21 - Committee Approves Nominees For DHS IG, GSA IG, & TSA Administrator   July 20 - Feingold, Collins Provision To Watch Over Iraq Reconstruction Spending Included In Senate Foreign Ops Bill   July 19 current Press Release   July 18 - Senator Collins Announces $7.1 Million For Amtrak Security   July 14 - SENATOR COLLINS SPONSORS LEGISLATION TO ENSURE REASONABLE BORDER REQUIREMENTS FOR FREQUENT TRAVELERS TO CANADA   July 13 - SENATORS COLLINS & LIEBERMAN QUESTION INDUSTRY AND OTHER EXPERTS ON PRIORITIES FOR FEDERAL LEGISLATION TO MAKE CHEMICAL FACILITIES MORE SECURE   July 13 - SENATOR COLLINS’ STATEMENT ON DHS’ SECOND STAGE REVIEW   July 12 - SENATE APPROVES COLLINS-LIEBERMAN FIRST RESPONDER GRANT FORMULA, DOUBLES RISK-BASED HOMELAND SECURITY FUNDING   July 11 - SENATORS COLLINS & LIEBERMAN OFFER FIRST RESPONDER GRANT LEGISLATION AS AMENDMENT TO HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS BILL   July 10 - SENATORS COLLINS & LIEBERMAN RELEASE FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE SAFEGUARDS IN FEMA’S DISASTER RELIEF PROGRAM   July 1 - COMMITTEE RELEASES WHITE HOUSE RESPONSE TO COLLINS-LIEBERMAN INTELLIGENCE REFORM OVERSIGHT LETTER
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