Florida media are reporting that an approximate ton of cocaine valued at an estimated US$23 million wholesale was seized from a go-fast boat on 11 November 2017 off Dominican territorial waters. The boat was detained “just south of Jaragua, Dominican Republic,” the US Coast Guard reported. The drugs, packaged in 30 bales, were brought to St. Petersburg, Florida on board the US Coast Guard Cutter Pelican on Monday, 20 November. Three suspected smugglers were taken into custody.
As reported, the drug bust was carried out under the direction of the US Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF-S). “This offload today is the result of the combined efforts of our partners and allied men and women who continue to work day and night to stop these criminal organizations from profiting off transnational crime and smuggling,” said Capt. Aldante Vinciguerra, chief of response, Coast Guard’s 7th District. “This offload represents approximately one ton of illicit drugs that will never hit our streets.”
The Coast Guard has been working with its counter part in the Caribbean to help stop drug trafficking and smuggling on the Caribbean Sea, say Coast Guard officials.
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WTKR
21 November 2017
