SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Last month, the U.S. Coast Guard offloaded nearly 20,000 pounds of cocaine at a San Diego pier, one of the largest seizures in the Pacific and worth hundreds of millions of dollars. But behind the headlines of the narcotics was a rare personal story, a father and son working together on the same mission.
Chief Engineer Senior Chief Michael Fonseca, and his son, were both aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Midgett when the massive haul was interdicted during Operation Pacific Viper, a two-month deployment in the Eastern Pacific targeting narcotics shipments before they reach U.S. shores.
Coast Guard offloads $150M cocaine haul in San Diego
“What inspired me to enlist, I had family members that are also in the military, had an uncle that told stories when I was a child,” Michael Fonseca explained.
The younger Fonseca said his decision to enlist was inspired by family ties. “I thought it was a good way to start my life as an adult. I saw it worked out for him, so I thought I could do it for a few years.”…