Agents of Air and Marine Operations (AMO) from the federal Customs and Border Protection Office (CBP) on Thursday evening intercepted 204 kilos of cocaine thrown from a boat with three occupants near Culebra, an island municipality of Puerto Rico, to the east, and at a another operation, the local police seized 217 kilos in Manatí, in the north.
The value of the drug seized in Manatí is $ 6,727,000 and the estimated value of the drug seized in the East is $ 5.5 million.
“Our vigilance and persistent efforts continue to deliver significant results,” Johnny Morales, director of Air and Maritime Operations for CBP’s Caribbean Air and Marine Branch said in a statement released Saturday.
“We are taking advantage of our advanced maritime and aviation capabilities to detect and intercept illegal raids on our coastal borders,” he added.
On the night of January 7, the crew of a Puerto Rico National Guard (PRNG) helicopter operating with the AMO Marine Units of Fajardo and Santo Tomás discovered and intercepted a 25 to 30 foot “yola” type vessel (between 7.62 meters and 9.14 meters), with three people on board near the nearby island of Culebrita.
In total, seven bales were removed from the water.
A doctor, a marine bans technician, provided assistance to one of the ship’s occupants who was injured during the operation.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) took custody of the contraband and individuals for investigation and prosecution.
With approximately 1,800 federal agents and mission support personnel, 240 aircraft and 300 marine vessels operating in the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, AMO carries out its mission in the air and maritime environments within and outside the border, and inland. of the nation.
On the other hand, Puerto Rico police reported that United Forces Unit for Rapid Action (FURA) agents in the Vega Baja area arrested two people this morning, “with an undefined immigration status,” and a “large amount of controlled substances”. , events that took place on the beach of Los Tubos de Manatí, in the north of the island.
As reported, while the agents were conducting an industry surveillance, they discovered two people in a boat, homemade with fiberglass and wood, landing on the shore of the beach with 10 bundles, which contained 217 kilograms of cocaine in their interior, with an estimated worth $ 6,727,000.
The Caribbean Corridor Strike Force office took over jurisdiction of the case