Federal Agents, Coast Guard Intercept Drug Smuggling Boats off Puerto Rico
Federal officials recently made two seizures of cocaine, hidden in boats off the coast of Puerto Rico.
In one incident, federal agents seized 860 pounds of cocaine with a street value of more than $9 million, after intercepting a boat in the vicinity of Boquerón, Puerto Rico.
The seizures were conducted by Marine Interdiction Agents of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations (AMO) and Puerto Rico Police Department FURA agents.
According to a news release, on September 2, 2023, FURA officers alerted the crew of an AMO coastal interceptor vessel about a suspect boat. Agents soon found the vessel about six nautical miles west of Boquerón, with two people on board.
During a subsequent search, agents found 14 bales of suspected contraband “hidden inside the vessel’s forward cabin.” The contraband tested positive to the properties of cocaine.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents took custody of the two individuals and the seized contraband.
In the second incident, members of the U.S. Coast Guard seized a vessel southeast of Puerto Rico.
After a high-speed pursuit, the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Donald Horsley intercepted the boat and apprehended three suspected smugglers. The Coast Guard recovered 31 bales of contraband cocaine with an estimated value of $19 million.
"The strong collaboration and coordination between our Coast Guard units and our partner law enforcement agencies operating in the Caribbean are instrumental to achieving continued successful outcomes like in this case,” said Capt. José E. Díaz, Coast Guard Sector San Juan commander.
The seizure was a result of multi-agency efforts involving the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), the Caribbean Border Interagency Group, and the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force.