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Destroyer intercepted and sank a smuggling boat

On June 22, 2025, the USS 'Sampson' intercepted a smuggling boat in the Eastern Pacific and captured 3.5 tonnes of cocaine, beingworth $58 million on the U.S. market, more than $120 million in Europe and upwards of $300 million in Australia, depending upon the final destination. Just past 5.30 p.m. a helicopter from the destroyer spotted a suspicious vessel at an undisclosed position in the Eastern Pacific. The crew launched a small boat with a team of officers from Sampson's embarked U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET). The LEDET crew found three suspected drug smugglers aboard the vessel, all of whom said that they were foreign nationals. The packages aboard the vessel tested positive for cocaine, so the cargo and all three suspects were taken into custody aboard the Sampson. Their stateless vessel was later sunk as a hazard to navigation.