Cocaine worth $5 million seized on ship off Puerto Rico coast

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents, in cooperation with the Puerto Rican police’s Joint Forces for Rapid Action (FURA), seized over $5 million worth of cocaine after intercepting a vessel off the coast of Puerto Rico.

On September 1, CBP and FURA discovered 260 kilograms of illegal drugs hidden in a boat approximately 3 kilometers offshore east of Domes Beach. The estimated street value of the seized drugs is estimated at $5.3 million, CBP said.

The operation is part of CBP’s ongoing efforts to intercept and prevent the smuggling of illegal drugs into the country. According to CBP data, more than 53,783 pounds of cocaine were seized nationwide in fiscal year 2024.

After seizing drugs on the intercepted ship, authorities arrested two US citizens.

CBP Caribbean Air and Marine spotted a vessel traveling east toward Domes Beach in Rincon, Puerto Rico. Ramey Border Patrol Sector Communications notified FURA to intercept the vessel, CBP said.

FURA intercepted the boat and found a Yamaha 225 outboard motor, two male US citizens and several packages of cocaine. The agency transported the two individuals, the boat and the narcotics to its maritime station in Añasco.

Ramey Sector Border Patrol agents arrested the two individuals and seized the cocaine, which was turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) following the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force drug raid.

The vessel and the arrested individuals were also turned over to the DEA for further investigation and prosecution.

In August, border patrol agents seized multiple quantities of cocaine, including a $6 million shipment found on an intercepted vessel off the coast of Puerto Rico.

Eleven bales of cocaine weighing more than 300 kilograms were seized and two Dominican Republic citizens were arrested. According to CBP, one of their sniffer dogs alerted officers to the drugs.

On August 24, CBP officers found $3 million worth of cocaine hidden in a shipment of charcoal at the Rio Grande port of entry on the southwest border.

Elsewhere, border officials in San Diego discovered half a million dollars worth of cocaine after a Border Patrol canine team tracked down the drug shipment.

Meanwhile, officials at the U.S.-Canadian border seized more than $4 million worth of cocaine hidden behind a “false wall” in a semi-trailer truck.

In 2023, the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that there will be 107,543 drug overdose deaths in the United States.

According to the DEA, Colombia produces an estimated 90 percent of the cocaine powder that enters the United States.

Through July 2024, law enforcement officials at the U.S.-Mexico border will have seized approximately 24,152 pounds of cocaine at the southwest border during the 2023-2024 fiscal year.

Almost half of the cocaine seized by CBP in the United States entered the country through the southern border.

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