Local News

Everett Navy ship in on big drug chase

By JIM HALEY
Herald Writer

EVERETT The crew of the Everettbased destroyer USS Callaghan seized
more than 3.5 tons of cocaine early Saturday during a druginterdiction
patrol off the coast of Colombia, the Navy said Thursday.

The ship was involved in a highseas, highspeed chase with a boat that
eventually evaded the Kiddclass destroyer, the Navy said.

But the occupants of the boat tossed overboard scores of bales of cocaine
to lighten its load and evade capture. The Callaghan crew recovered 121
bales, each weighing 60 pounds, the Navy said.

That's 7,260 pounds. According to Al Shelstad of the Snohomish Regional
Drug Task Force, the street value here of that much cocaine is more than
$82 million. The Navy put the street value at twice that sum.

The Callaghan is in the fourth month of antidrug activity with an
interagency force off the South American coast.

According to a dispatch filed by Ensign Chris Cooper of the Callaghan, the
seizure is believed to be the largest in the eastern Pacific area this year.

The Callaghan is scheduled to return to Everett on Oct. 23. This may be the
ship's last patrol abroad. It has been selected for decommissioning next year.

Although the drugrunning speedboat eluded the Callaghan, a helicopter
launched by the ship followed it for hours and photographed it. The Navy
has not been able to confirm whether the boat or its occupants have been
captured.

The pursuit started before dawn when the crew picked up a fastmoving
object on radar.

The Callaghan pursued the vessel undetected until sunrise. The boat was
identified as a 45foot "gofast," with four outboard engines and a
Vshaped hull.

When the boat's occupants saw they were being chased, the boat increased
its speed and began zigzagging, apparently to evade the Callaghan, the Navy
said.

The Callaghan used radio and a loudspeaker trying to get the boat to stop,
but the occupants began jettisoning large, white bales.

A crew lookout said the bales were at first dumped over the side. Then the
boat's occupants started hacking the bales with a machete to make them sink.

With a lighter load, the vessel increased its speed to more than 40 miles
per hour, pulling away from the destroyer. The Callaghan launched its
Seahawk helicopter, which kept contact with the boat until the copter was
forced to refuel three hours later.

Helicopter crew members took photos of the boat as it raced toward the
Colombian coast. A propellerdriven P3 Orion Navy patrol aircraft was
called in to relieve the helicopter.

Meanwhile, the Callaghan returned to where the bales were tossed. Many were
wrapped in several layers of shrinkwrap plastic and rubber, and were
floating. With the help of a U.S. Coast Guard detachment assigned to the
Callaghan, the 121 bales were recovered. Random samples tested positive for
cocaine, the Navy said.

Copyright © 1997 The Daily Herald Co.