Agents nab catamaran stuffed with pot




By Debbi Baker
UNION-TRIBUNE BREAKING NEWS TEAM

12:13 p.m. July 16, 2008

SAN DIEGO – Federal agents arrested five men Tuesday night and seized a catamaran cruiser that was carrying almost 5,000 pounds of marijuana valued at 2.5 million, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said.
The engines on the 48-foot boat had broken down in Mexican waters and was towed into the U.S. Inspection area at Shelter Island about 9 p.m. by a private company, said ICE spokeswoman Lauren Mack.



Advertisement The boat, which is registered in the U.S. and is named the Sea View, was searched and the marijuana was discovered, she said.
Agents, assisted by Harbor Police, arrested one man aboard the boat and four men who were waiting for it in a parked white Mercedes Benz, Mack said.

Agents found 203 bundles of marijuana. totaling 4,883 pounds, concealed in a specially constructed roof section of the cabin, Mack said.

The compartment was “professionally constructed to blend into the contours of the cabin,â€