On maiden deployment, USS Minneapolis-St. Paul stops two drug smuggling operations in Caribbean

The USS Minneapolis-St Paul the state s namesake ship serving the U S Navy was instrumental in just now stopping two drug smuggling operations in the Caribbean within hours of one another during its maiden deployment bureaucrats announced The drug busts resulted in the confiscation of pounds of cocaine worth an estimated million and pounds of marijuana worth an estimated million according to a Navy press release The so-called littoral combat ship worked with the U S Coast Guard to take out the drug smuggling vessels through a combination of air and surface operations The USS Minneapolis-St Paul executed their duties seamlessly in the combined effort to protect the homeland from illicit maritime trafficking announced Rear Adm Carlos Sardiello commander of U S Naval Forces Southern Command U S th Fleet We train diligently and stand ready to execute interdiction missions at moment s notice reported Minneapolis-St Paul commanding officer Cmdr Steven Fresse To be able to make an immediate impact so early on during our maiden deployment is a testament to the hard work and skills of the ship s crew The new ship s homeport is in Mayport Fla near Jacksonville Related Articles Minneapolis man accused of threatening to kill member of Congress Teen shooter gets -year prison sentence for daytime chilling execution outside St Paul tobacco shop Four guns determined in and near St Paul high schools in a week s span Idaho police release body camera video of nonverbal and autistic teen s fatal shooting Shooting rampage at Florida State that left dead lasted less than minutes police say