The U.S. Coast Guard last week seized a shipment of about 1,100 pounds of cocaine worth some $16 million off the coast of Puerto Rico, Miami ABC affiliate WPLG reported.

The USCGC Tahoma on March 18 intercepted a suspicious go-fast, which had been detected by a Joint Interagency Taskforce South maritime patrol aircraft and was heading towards the U.S. territory, Fort Myers' Fox 4 detailed.

A so-called Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron was launched from aboard the Coast Guard vessel; its crew located the suspected smugglers and guided an interdiction crew from the Tahoma to their location, the channel added.

Once the Tahoma seized the contraband, Coast Guardsmen arrested three citizens of the Dominican Republic, who were later transferred into the custody of Drug Enforcement Administration special agents in Puerto Rico and are now facing charges.

Cmdr. Willie Carmichael, the Tahoma's commanding officer, beamed about the successful operation, WPLG revealed.

"I am very proud of Tahoma's crew and our embarked helicopter detachment for helping to secure our maritime border south of Puerto Rico," Carmichael said. "It was truly a multi-agency effort to interdict the vessel and prevent over 1,100 pounds of contraband from entering the United States."

During 16 counter-drug interdictions, the Coast Guard has seized 15,671 kilograms of cocaine and 5,320 pounds of marijuana since January 2014, Fox 4 noted. Combined, the confiscated narcotics account for a wholesale value of more than $524 million.

The Department of Homeland Security-controlled branch of the U.S. military is engaged in "Operation Unified Resolve" and the larger "Operation Caribbean Guard," in which the Coast Guard collaborates with law-enforcement agencies from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to "deter, detect and disrupt illicit maritime trafficking" to the U.S. territories, the Fort Myers-based Fox affiliate added.

The USCGC Tahoma, a medium endurance cutter nicknamed the "Mighty T," is based at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine. The vessel has a crew of 14 officers and 86 enlisted and is capable of performing a variety of missions, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.