Drug surveillance agents in Curacao, Puerto Rico, the Dominican and the United States working together as the Caribbean Border Interagency Group were able to confiscate 3,967 pounds of cocaine off Dominican shores on 25 and 27 November. The US Coast Guard reports that on Wednesday, 5 December, US Coast Guard Cutter Decisive returned to its homeport of St. Petersburg, Fl with a shipment of 3,967 pounds of cocaine that had been seized in two interdictions off Dominican shores.
“The outstanding efforts and collaboration between the Coast Guard and Caribbean regional law enforcement partners took these two major cocaine shipments, with a combined weight of over 3,967 pounds, out from the hands of criminals,” said Coast Guard Capt. Drew Pearson, Sector San Juan commander. “Our efforts to stem the flow of drugs into Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands as far off shore as possible is unwavering and will reduce crime across the region.”
The US Coast Guard announced that on 25 November some 2,094 pounds of cocaine were seized on board a suspicious boat off the southern coast of the Dominican Republic. In that action, the Coast Guard reports that the crew of one of its HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft detected four men aboard a suspicious vessel using blue tarps to hide a cargo shipment of what appeared to be multiple bales of suspected contraband. The aircrew watched the crew jettison their cargo overboard and flee the area shortly after being detected, it said.
Coast Guard watchstanders in sector San Juan sent Coast Guard Cutter Nantucket to locate and recover the suspected contraband. Dutch Coast Guard authorities in Curacao also responded sending a Dash-8 maritime surveillance aircraft to assist.
The crew of the Dutch Coast Guard aircraft found the illicit cargo in the water and called in the Nantucket whose crew hauled in 38 bales of suspected contraband that had spread out over a three nautical mile search area. A field test determined the bales contained cocaine, said the Coast Guard. The contraband was transferred to the Coast Guard Cutter Decisive for transport to law enforcement officials in the US.
The US Coast Guard said that two days later, on 27 November, joint forces law enforcement authorities apprehended the master of a 34-foot sailboat 80 kms off the southern coast of the Dominican Republic. Some 1,873 pounds of cocaine were seized from the vessel. A Cuban national was identified as the captain of the boat. The suspicious boat had been identified by a patrolling Coast Guard HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft that sent Coast Guard Cutter Key Largo to interdict the suspect vessel. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Caribbean Air and Marine authorities in Puerto Rico were also alerted and responded by launching a Dash-8 maritime surveillance aircraft to assist, it said.
As reported by the US Coast Guard, the crew of the US CBP aircraft relieved the HC-144 aircraft, said the US Coast Guard and called in the Key Largo to the sailboat’s position. Upon boarding the sailboat, Key Largo’s personnel found 26 packages in plain view and a field test confirmed that the packages contained cocaine, said the US Coast Guard.
This initiative comes under the Operation Unified Resolve that is being implemented by the San Juan Regional Coordinating Mechanism (SJ ReCoM)/Caribbean Border Interagency Group (CBIG).