Puerto Rico

USCG Offloads $44M of Cocaine in Puerto Rico

The Coast Guard offloaded approximately 1,340 kilograms of cocaine Monday at its base in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The cocaine was worth an estimated wholesale value of $44.2 million, and was seized during two separate drug smuggling attempts in the Caribbean Sea, according to the USCG.

In one case, a USCG aircraft crew detected a suspicious vessel with three people and possible contraband on board. The vessel was detected approximately 45 nautical miles southeast of Saint-Jean-du-Sud, Haiti. 

When they noticed law enforcement authorities in the area, the vessel crew threw their cargo overboard and fled the area. Crews recovered 57 bales that weighed approximately 1,140 kilograms and later tested positive for cocaine. 

In the second case, an aircraft detected three men aboard a suspicious vessel carrying a load of suspected contraband. The aircrew observed the people throwing part of their cargo overboard as the vessel continued to move towards the Dominican Republic.

Crews set up a course to interdict the suspect vessel, which made landfall in Isla Saona. Eight bales of suspected contraband were recovered, which weighed approximately 200 kilograms and tested positive for cocaine.

Authorities detained one of the suspected smugglers and seized 25 additional bales of contraband from the vessel.

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