Coast Guard air crews and maintenance personnel from Air Station Clearwater, Florida, deployed to Great Inagua in September to support Operation Bahamas Turks and Caicos (OPBAT).
OPBAT was established in 1982 to counter cocaine smuggling from Columbia, but has developed into a combined U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Boarder Protection operation in partnership with the governments of the Bahamas and the United Kingdom to combat drug smuggling to and from the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands.
Editor's note: Click on photos for link to high resolution versions
Also, read OPBAT- Beyond the drugs for an in-depth look at OPBAT operations in Great Inagua.
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