The United States Coast Guard says it has detained two suspected smugglers and seized more than US$13 million worth of illegal drugs in the Caribbean Sea.
The Coast Guard said that 491.5 kilograms of cocaine and 9.2 kilograms of suspected heroin had been seized during the operation after a 30-foot vessel had been spotted with “visible packages on deck”.
“This case highlights the unwavering resolve and collective efforts of Coast Guard, federal and local law enforcement partners to strengthen the security of the nation’s Caribbean border and protect our citizens from drug smuggling that threaten our shores, said Captain Eric P. King, Sector San Juan commander.
“This successful interdiction resulted in the detention of two smugglers and kept a major drug shipment off the streets,” he added.
DEA Caribbean Division Associate Special Agent in Charge, Reinaldo R. López, said the inter agencies “relentless mission of disrupting and dismantling transnational drug trafficking organizations will continue,” warning drug traffickers, especially across the Caribbean that “we are hunting them down in an all-year-round open season.”
The Coast Guard said the two men detained are a US Citizen and a national from the Dominican Republic.
It said the interdiction was the result of ongoing, multi-agency US federal law enforcement efforts in support of Operation Unified Resolve, Operation Caribbean Guard and the Caribbean Border Interagency Group.
