A U.S. Coast Guard crew seized over 5,000 pounds of cocaine from vessels in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, continuing a trend of major busts from non-lethal operations in the area. 

The crew of the crew of the USCG Cutter Active offloaded over 27,000 pounds of cocaine in San Diego, California on Monday. The majority of the drugs came from a seizure carried out by the crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Munro. Earlier in December, the crew of the Munro worked with USCG air forces to disable a go-fast vessel that had more than 20,000 pounds of drugs aboard. It was the largest single-boat seizure in nearly 20 years. 

The crew of the Active also stopped two go-fast boats in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, according to Cmdr. Earl Potter, the vessel's commanding officer. Potter said that each go-fast boat had three "suspected narcoterrorists" aboard. He did not say what happened to the suspects. 

CBS affiliate KFMB reported that 12 people were arrested as part of the seizures and now face federal drug charges.  

Rear Adm. Jeffrey Novak, the deputy commander of the Coast Guard Pacific Area, told KFMB that the agency works to disable boats and seize the drugs and people aboard. 

"We utilize our aircraft to try and interdict," Novak told KFMB. "We have the ability to call a non-compliant vessel and use force from an aircraft. We can fire warning shots and then disabling fire to shoot out the engines of the fast vessel."

The drugs seized by the crews of the Active and the Munro had a combined value of $203.9 million, the Coast Guard said on social media. Potter said the crew of the Active had "certainly earned" its nickname of "Little Tough Guy." 

"I'm most proud of the crew for their ingenuity, their perseverance and their can-do attitude, the way they look through the hardest of days and keep the mission at the forefront of their thoughts," Potter said in a video shared by the Coast Guard. 

The U.S. government and other authorities have long fought to stop boats carrying drugs from Central and South America. The interdictions by the Active and the Munro were conducted as part of Operation Pacific Viper, where Coast Guard assets have been surged to the Eastern Pacific to try to disrupt drug smuggling. 

The Trump administration has targeted some alleged drug vessels with lethal strikes, killing dozens and drawing controversy. The administration has defended the strikes even as some questioned their legality, especially after a second strike was conducted on survivors of an incident on Sept. 2.