The USCG Cutter ‘Joseph Tezanos’ crew transferred custody of three smugglers and approximately $3.3 million dollars of cocaine to Drug Enforcement Administration agents at Coast Guard Sector San Juan on Thursday, following the interdiction of a go-fast vessel Sunday off Loiza, Puerto Rico.
The interdiction was the result of ongoing multi-agency law enforcement efforts in support of Operation Unified Resolve, Operation Caribbean Guard and the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force. The three men apprehended in this case are facing federal prosecution in Puerto Rico.
While on a routine patrol off Puerto Rico’s northern coast Saturday night, the crew of a Coast Guard HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft detected a suspicious 35-foot go-fast vessel transiting toward Puerto Rico without navigational lights, approximately 50 nm north of the island.
Watchstanders at Sector San Juan diverted the USCG Cutter Joseph Tezanos to interdict the suspect vessel. Once on scene, the Joseph Tezanos deployed their Over the Horizon cutter boat in pursuit of the go-fast.
During the pursuit, the crew of the Coast Guard aircraft observed the suspected smugglers jettisoning multiple packages of suspected contraband overboard. The Joseph Tezanos crew stopped the go-fast and embarked the three men who were onboard, approximately 30 nm north of Loiza.
Following the interdiction, the Joseph Tezanos crew located and recovered four bales from the water as well as three additional packages that were located by the crew of a Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen helicopter. The seized contraband weighed approximately 112 kilograms and tested positive for cocaine.
Significant amounts of cocaine have been seized during the last week, saving many lives along the way. We will not relent or let down our guard. We’ll continue to combine our resources against drug trafficking in the Caribbean and those Transnational Criminal Organizations responsible will continue to suffer losses,
…said A.J. Collazo, DEA Caribbean Division Special Agent in Charge.
The Joseph Tezanos crew destroyed the go-fast vessel as a hazard to navigation.