The United States Coast Guard seized a shipment of approximately 1,000 kilograms of cocaine worth $20 million near Puerto Rico.
The crew of the Coast Guard cutter Donald Horsley and special agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) unloaded the drug Monday at the San Juan Coast Guard.
According to the U.S. Coast Guard statement, “During a routine patrol Wednesday, the crew of a Customs and Border Protection multi-role enforcement aircraft sighted a suspicious vessel near Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. Coast Guard lookout posts in the San Juan sector distracted the cutter Donald Horsley, who arrived on scene and intercepted a 35-foot Go Fast boat.”
Two Dominican nationals were on the boat in which they were transporting several bales of alleged contraband. The check found that the 33 bales confiscated were positive for cocaine.
Capt. Gregory H. Magee, commander of Sector San Juan, stated, “This case underscores the steadfast determination of the Coast Guard and our partners to block drug smuggling ships at sea and protect the nation’s southernmost maritime border.
Referring to working with the DEA, he noted that “these organizations are key to protecting our citizens of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands from drug trafficking and other smuggling threats in the Caribbean.”
The United States Border Patrol, the Puerto Rico Police Department’s United Forces of Rapid Action (FURA), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) cooperated with the Coast Guard and DEA in the seizure.
The DEA, in turn, took custody of the detainees and the seized drugs to begin investigating the case.
Another shipment of more than 8,000 pounds of cocaine was intercepted by members of the United States Coast Guard while on patrol in the Caribbean last Friday. In this case, the drug seized was valued at $243 million.
Earlier this month, the US Coast Guard reported that it had seized more than $220 million worth of illegal drugs from anti-drug operations since last February, CNN reported.
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