Coast Guard offloads US$5.5 million in cocaine seized off Puerto Rico

The U.S. Coast Guard said cutter Winslow Griesser offloaded 489 pounds of cocaine, estimated at a wholesale value of US$5.5 million, at Coast Guard Base San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Monday 19 October. The Coast Guard said it transferred three men from the vessel to Homeland Security Task Force San Juan authorities.

The Coast Guard said the seizure followed the 10 October interception of a go-fast vessel in Atlantic waters north of Isabela, Puerto Rico. A Coast Guard Air Station Miami HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft detected the vessel during a patrol, and Sector San Juan diverted the Winslow Griesser to stop it, according to the Coast Guard.

Federal agents took custody of the men pending further investigation, the Coast Guard said. It identified them as two Dominican Republic nationals and one Chinese national.