Abandoned boat, foreign food and $10 million in cocaine. To claim call C.B.P.

What agents say they found on an abandoned boat: foreign food and $10 million in cocaine

BY DAVID J. NEAL

JANUARY 29, 2019 02:42 PM,
UPDATED 5 HOURS 13 MINUTES AGO

Some of what Customs and Border Protection agents say was cocaine on an abandoned boat off a Puerto Rican coast. U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION

Agents from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Border Patrol and the Puerto Rico police didn’t get to a suspected smuggling boat in time to get the driver or any crew.

But, Customs said, they got to the boat fast enough that the captain and crew left behind food and 401 kilos of cocaine.

Customs puts the value of that at $10 million. Narcotics News puts the value in San Juan between $5.6 million and $8.22 million.

Customs says U.S. Coast Guard and Customs planes and boats spotted the boat on Monday heading south to Puerto Rico’s northern coast. The boat reached a shore near Loiza, Puerto Rico.

“The abandoned vessel contained foreign food products indicating that the vessel had arrived from a foreign country,” a release from Customs and Border Protection said.

“After an extensive search, agents discovered 12 bundles containing 350 bricks, which field-tested positive to the properties of cocaine.”

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/loc...225235630.html

CBP, FURA Seize Cocaine Worth $10 million inside Abandoned Vessel in Northern Puerto Rico

• español

Release Date: January 29, 2019

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Border Patrol and Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPD) Joint Forces for Rapid Action (FURA) agents seized Monday 884 pounds (401 Kilos) of cocaine found inside an abandoned vessel on the coast of the town of Loiza. The estimated value of the seized narcotics is $10 million.

https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/fi...713_228291.jpg
U.S. Coast Guard and CBP Air and Marine assets located a suspected smuggling vessel traveling south towards the northern coast of Puerto Rico.
U.S. Border Patrol Agents responded to the area of Loiza where the vessel had made landfall. The abandoned vessel contained foreign food products indicating that the vessel had arrived from a foreign country.

After an extensive search, agents discovered 12 bundles containing 350 bricks, which field-tested positive to the properties of cocaine.

“Ramey Border Patrol Sector has adjusted its presence in key locations around the island, in response to smuggling activity,” stated Xavier Morales, Ramey Sector Chief Patrol Agent in Aguadilla. “Smugglers have the perception that law enforcement decreased its resources during this federal shutdown; however our agents remain vigilant, working 24 hours, seven days a week.”

Border Patrol agents seized the vessel, engine and contraband, handing it over to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) for investigation.

With the Operation Stonegarden Grant Program (OPSG) FURA and other law enforcement agencies in the island work with the U.S. Border Patrol in a joint mission to secure Puerto Rico’s coastal areas.

Follow us on Twitter: @CBP @CBPCaribbean & @CBPFlorida

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between official ports of entry. CBP is charged with securing the borders of the United States while enforcing hundreds of laws and facilitating lawful trade and travel.

Last modified: January 29, 2019

https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-m...andoned-vessel