A littoral combat ship seized more than $20 million worth of cocaine last month after it interdicted a smuggling speedboat in the Caribbean Sea, the Navy announced this week.

The LCS Sioux City, carrying an embarked Coast Guard team, seized nearly 1,110 pounds of the drug on Sept. 19.

Sioux City and a Dominican Republic vessel spotted a “go-fast” speed boat that day and the LCS deployed a rigid-hull inflatable boat, which sped after the traffickers and “established positive control,” in the words of the Navy.

“Any time we can prevent this stuff from getting to our communities and affecting our families makes these experiences more rewarding,” Sioux City’s commanding officer, Cmdr. Brad Tonder, said in a statement.

Sioux City is deployed to U.S. 4th Fleet’s as part of an ongoing mission to stop drug trafficking in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.

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The LCS fleet was once considered the future of the post-Cold War fleet, but the past few decades have seen the littoral combat ship fail to live up to expectations in a myriad of ways.

But the ships have found a second life of sorts running narcotics interdiction missions in 4th Fleet’s waters.

Geoff is the editor of Navy Times, but he still loves writing stories. He covered Iraq and Afghanistan extensively and was a reporter at the Chicago Tribune. He welcomes any and all kinds of tips at geoffz@militarytimes.com.

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