Navy destroyer helped recover $720 million in drugs during 9 month deployment

Oct. 8--The USS Pinckney, a guided-missile destroyer, returned to Naval Base San Diego this week after recovering $720 million worth of marijuana and cocaine during its nine-month deployment.

The Navy ship, which left San Diego in January with the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group, embarked on a counter-narcotics mission in April while the USS Roosevelt was sidelined in Guam following a massive coronavirus outbreak on the ship.

The Pinckney joined the U.S. Southern Command and Joint Interagency Task Force in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. There, with an embarked U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment, the ship's sailors recovered an estimated 9,800 kilograms of suspected cocaine and an estimated 2,800 pounds of marijuana worth an estimated wholesale value of $720 million, Navy officials said this week.

"The sailors of Pinckney have helped make the United States a safer place to live," said Cmdr. Andrew Roy, the ship's commanding officer. "I thank all Pinckney sailors and U.S. Coast Guardsmen who overcame many obstacles to make sure illicit narcotics will never make it into our homes, schools, or communities."

In addition to the narcotics seizure, the ship and its personnel also helped oversee navigation operations and participated in exercises with the Guatemalan Navy.

USS Pinckney returned to its home port of Naval Base San Diego on Monday, Oct. 5.

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