VIDEO | US Coast Guard seizes cocaine worth nearly $46m off Colombia

While two vessels stopped when directed, one boat required precision sniper fire directed at the engines to compel it to stop. Suspected smugglers jumped overboard during the encounter and were subsequently rescued by the helicopter aircrew with no reported injuries.

Commander Nolan Cuevas, Tahoma’s Commanding Officer, noted the operation prevented a significant volume of illegal narcotics from reaching the shores of the US.

An offload of approximately 8,185 pounds (3,713 kilograms) of narcotics with an estimated value of $61.6 million was scheduled for May 14 at Port Everglades.

The Tahoma is a 270-foot (82-metre) medium endurance cutter homeported at Naval Station Newport in Rhode Island.