Drug trafficking: They confiscate a cocaine stash valued at 5.4 million dollars in Puerto Rico waters

The United States Coast Guard in Puerto Rico reported on Wednesday that it arrested five Dominicans for possession of a 725 -pound -pounds (329 kilos) of cocaine, valued at 5.4 million dollars, which were loaded in a boat and that tried to enter Puerto Rico illegally.

As explained by the Federal Agency in a statement, on the night of April 28, a boat of the Marine and Air Division of the Border Patrol (CBP, in English) sighted a suspicious 35 -foot boat (10 meters) of length in international waters, north of Aguadilla (northwest).

After that, the CBP officers alerted the coastguards in San Juan to dispatch their Joseph Napier vessel to join the emergency efforts of that moment.

Upon arriving the Napier ship to the suspicious boat, it displayed its little Over The Horizon boat to persecute the suspects and carry out the intervention.

In the attempt, the smuggers tried to flee from the authorities, and at the same time, they began to launch the drug stash into the sea.

However, the coastguards managed to detain the smugglers, and recover eight drug bales, of which seven had already been thrown into the sea.

Eventually, smuggling tested positive for cocaine and smuggers were repatriated to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, and delivered to the Dominican Navy.

The intervention was the result of teamwork with the «Strike Force» of the Caribbean Corridor (CCSF, in English).

The CCSF is a working group of multiple agencies that operate in Puerto Rico, dedicated to investigating transnational criminal organizations based on the Caribbean and South America, involved in the maritime and aerial smuggling of narcotic shipments to the United States. EFE