Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection law enforcement personnel seized approximately 125 pounds of cocaine July 22, 2016 aboard the Isleño ferry in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection law enforcement personnel seized approximately 125 pounds of cocaine Friday morning aboard the Isleño ferry in Fajardo, Puerto Rico.
The seized contraband was estimated to have a wholesale value of approximately 1.42 million dollars.
“The superb partnerships between the Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection, ICE-HSI, and the Puerto Rico Police prevented this drug smuggling event from reaching the streets of Puerto Rico,” said Lt. Cmdr. Christopher Douglas, Coast Guard Sector San Juan chief of law enforcement. “The teamwork displayed reinforces our commitment to one another in protecting the marine transportation system and the citizens of this great island.”
A Coast Guard boarding team, conducting a surveillance patrol with a CBP officer/K-9 team at the Fajardo ferry terminal, conducted a pier-side boarding of the Isleño, after passengers had disembarked from the vessel. While searching aboard the vessel, the Coast Guard and CBP law enforcement team located two suitcases in plain view that were found to contain 50 wrapped packages of suspected contraband. A field test conducted at the scene revealed the contents of the packages to be cocaine.
Coast Guard boarding team personnel where assisted by Puerto Rico Police Joint Forces of Rapid Action during the transport and transfer of the illegal drug shipment to Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations Special Agents, who are leading the investigation.