Coast Guard Seizes $4.3 Million in Cocaine During High-Stakes Bust off Puerto Rico

The Drug Enforcement Agency has taken two men into custody after Coast Guard officials in Puerto Rico seized 400 pounds of cocaine from a boat.

 

On Sept. 28, the crew of an aircraft from the Coast Guard spotted a suspicious boat in international waters. In a Wednesday news release, the agency stated that the vessel was heading towards Rincon, an island town on Puerto Rico’s western coast. Joseph Tezanos was diverted, a 154 foot fast response cutter boat based in San Juan, Puerto Rico to intercept the vessel.

 

Officials said that the Coast Guard found 142 brick-sized packages containing suspected contraband inside the Joseph Tezanos.

 

The Coast Guard reported that these packages were positive for cocaine and had an estimated value of $4.3 million.

 

 

The two men aboard the vessel were arrested and taken into custody by the DEA. The Coast Guard reported that both men are United States Citizens and face federal charges, including possession with intent to sell a controlled substance on a vessel under the jurisdiction of the United States. The charges are punishable by a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life imprisonment.

 

In a press release, United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow said: “I congratulated the United States Coast Guard for their successful interdiction and disruption of a drug smuggling operation.” We are grateful for the U.S. Coast Guard’s unwavering commitment to keeping Puerto Rico, and our nation, safe.

 

The Caribbean Corridor Strike Force is a group of task forces that brings together multiple agencies in order to stop the flow illicit drugs into the region. Task force members include the DEA, FBI Coast Guard Homeland Security and ICE.

 

 

This is one of many large caches that have been seized in recent months by authorities. Federal officials confiscated $33 million of cocaine that was left on a Puerto Rico beach at the beginning of September. The 3,600 lbs of cocaine were found on a popular island for tourists, Vieques. They were dumped on the beach in the early morning hours.

 

Two men from the Dominican Republic, who were aboard a boat near Puerto Rico with more than 660 lbs of cocaine were arrested in August. In July, federal agents arrested and seized $4.6million worth of cocaine from two U.S. Citizens west of the island.

 

Puerto Rico is a transit area for drugs being smuggled into the U.S. mainland as well as other countries.