C.B.P. News Release

CBP Aircraft Aids in Caribbean Cocaine Seizures Worth $133 Million

(Thursday, November 05, 2009)

Jacksonville, Fla. — U.S. Customs and Border Protection P-3 Operations Center – Jacksonville aircrews continue to play a major role in the fight against cocaine traffickers in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. A Coast Guard cutter will return to its homeport in Miami on Thursday with nearly five tons of cocaine seized in four separate drug smuggling events, three of which were detected by CBP surveillance aircraft.

On October 9, a CBP Air and Marine P-3 aircraft detected a suspicious go-fast vessel, 50 miles off the coast of Panama. The CBP aircrew contacted a patrolling Coast Guard cutter and vectored the cutter to the smuggler’s position. The P-3 aircrew turned on all the aircraft lights to assist the cutter in the chase. When the smugglers boat was lit up by the CBP aircraft, they stopped their engines. In their efforts to evade capture, the go-fast crew began dumping multiples bales overboard. The Coast Guard crew recovered 36 bales of cocaine weighing 1,900 pounds.

On October 20, off the coast of Colombia, a CBP Air and Marine P-3 aircraft working with the Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF-South) located a go-fast boat. While the smugglers attempted to avoid authorities, the P-3 aircrew observed the go-fast crew dumping bales overboard. Coast Guard law enforcement personnel retrieved two bales from the water. The 100 pounds of white substance tested positive for cocaine.

On October 29, a CBP P-3 aircraft working with JIATF-S sighted a go-fast boat loaded with contraband off the coast of Nicaragua. The P-3 aircrew vectored a Coast Guard cutter to the smuggler’s location to intercept the speeding boat. The Coast Guard launched its helicopter to intercept the smugglers and employed disabling gun fire to the boat’s engines to prevent the smugglers from evading arrest. Four suspected drug smugglers were detained and 74 bales of cocaine weighing 3,700 pounds were seized.

“Our air crews provide daily support to ensure the safety of the nation and stopping drug smugglers is just one of many important missions. Our aircrews accomplish this mission through the detection, identification and apprehension of the drug traffickers,â€