USCG offloaded 2,606 pounds of cocaine worth of $30 million and apprehended three suspected smugglers, on Tuesday, December 11. The interdiction was made from a go-fast vessel in international waters off Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
This interdiction is the result of ongoing multi-agency law enforcement efforts in support of Operations Full Court Press, Operation Caribbean Guard and the Caribbean Border Interagency Group.
The suspected smugglers are facing likely federal prosecution by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
This case involved a high speed chase of over 10 hours in challenging weather conditions that was possible thanks to the tenacity and persistence of the Tezano’s crew and of our partners, who are proud to have completed the mission and prevented a large quantity of drugs from reaching the streets.
Lt. Cmdr. Mario Gil, commanding officer of the Coast Guard Cutter ‘Joseph Tezanos’ stated.
On Monday, December 12, while on a routine patrol, the crew of a HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft from Coast Guard Air Station Miami detected a suspicious go-fast vessel transiting with three people onboard, approximately 65 nautical miles north of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Upon sunset, the go-fast continued to transit in the dark without the use of navigational lights.
Watchstanders in Coast Guard Sector San Juan alerted CBIG partner agencies of the situation and diverted the Coast Guard Cutter ‘Joseph Tezanos’ and Coast Guard Cutter ‘Thetis’ to interdict the suspect vessel.
The crews of two Customs and Border Protection Caribbean Air and Marine Branch maritime patrol aircrafts also responded and supported the interdiction by maintaining aerial surveillance of the go-fast.
Throughout the pursuit, the Coast Guard and CBP aircrews vectored-in the cutter ‘Joseph Tezanos’ to the go-fast’s position. Once on scene, the cutter remained in hot pursuit of the go-fast, as the crew launched the cutter’s Over the Horizon Boat IV that closed-in and interdicted the go-fast, approximately 95 miles nautical miles northeast of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. The three suspects claimed to be Dominican Republic nationals. The ‘Tezanos’ boat crew located 52 bales of suspected contraband aboard the go-fast that a field test revealed positive results for cocaine. The ‘Joseph Tezanos’ crew apprehended and embarked the suspected smugglers along with the seized contraband.
The cutter ‘Joseph Tezanos’ is a 154-foot Fast Response Cutter homeported in San Juan, Puerto Rico, while the cutter ‘Thetis’ is a 270-foot Medium Endurance Cutter homeported in Key West, Fla.
