HMCS Yellowknife was in an undisclosed part of the eastern Pacific Ocean March 6 when crews identified a boat suspected of carrying drugs.

Canadian sailors, along with members of the U.S. Coast Guard, boarded the vessel and, after drilling holes into it, located 800 kilograms (1,764 pounds) of cocaine. They were able to remove 150 kilograms of the drug before the captured boat became too unstable to remain afloat.

Not wanting the remaining 650 kilograms to be left floating around, crews destroyed the drugs and then sunk the vessel.

The U.S. Coast Guard detained the crew members and seized the 150 kilograms of cocaine as evidence against them.

The operation was part of a joint effort by Canadian and American forces to help control and disrupt drug trafficking and organized crime in South and Central America. Since they began in 2006, they have helped disrupt or seize more than 112 tonnes of cocaine.

HMCS Yellowknife departed from CFB Esquimalt for this latest exercise Feb. 21.

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