Drugs
US Coast Guard and CBIG reps with the intercepted cocaine.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico--US Coast Guard and Caribbean Border Interagency Group (CBIG) law enforcement authorities seized 2,324 pounds of cocaine, worth an estimated US $30 million, following the interdiction of a go-fast vessel on Saturday off Luquillo, Puerto Rico.
This interdiction is the result of ongoing multi-agency law enforcement efforts in support of Operation Caribbean Guard and the CBIG.
“This successful interdiction is a testament to the crew’s vigilance, dedication to the mission and quick action, and I couldn’t be prouder,” said Lt. Katherine Ustler, Coast Guard Cutter Donald Horsley commanding officer. “Their efforts, along with support from our partner agencies, directly prevented over a ton of cocaine from reaching the streets of Puerto Rico.”
While on a routine patrol of the area, the crew of the Donald Horsley detected a suspicious go-fast vessel at 1:16am Saturday, transiting without navigational lights and with three people on board, approximately nine nautical miles off the coast of Luquillo, Puerto Rico.
Coast Guard Watchstanders in Sector San Juan alerted CBIG partner agencies of the developing situation, while the Donald Horsley remained in hot pursuit of the go-fast with the assistance of the unit’s Over the Horizon IV cutter boat.
Upon detecting the Coast Guard’s presence, the crew of the go-fast proceeded to attempt to flee the area at high speed with the Donald Horsley’s cutter boat remaining in hot pursuit. During the pursuit, the Donald Horsley crew observed the suspected smugglers jettison numerous bales of their cargo overboard. Shortly thereafter, the go-fast made landfall near La Pared Beach in Luquillo, where the smugglers fled the area and abandoned the go-fast with the remaining cargo on board.
Following the pursuit, the Donald Horsley combined efforts with responding US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Caribbean Air and Marine Branch (CAMB) and Puerto Rico Police Joint Forces of Rapid Action FURA marine units, as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE’s) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) land teams, which located and recovered 47 bales from the water and the abandoned go-fast. A Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter and a Coast Guard Auxiliary fixed-wing aircraft also assisted in the search for the jettisoned cargo. The recovered cargo tested positive for cocaine.
Operation Caribbean Guard is a Department of Homeland Security multi-agency law enforcement operation to support ongoing efforts in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands executed under the San Juan Regional Coordinating Mechanism SJ ReCoM/CBIG.
CBIG unifies efforts between US CBP, the US Coast Guard, US ICE, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico, and Puerto Rico Police FURA in their common goal of securing the borders of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands against illegal migrant and drug smuggling. ~ Caribbean News Now! ~
