Dramatic Drug Boat Chase Off Coast Of Oceanside Ends In Arrests

OCEANSIDE, CA — Authorities recovered nearly 1,500 pounds of drugs from a pair of smuggling boats Saturday, following a chase that involved gunfire and efforts to ram U.S. Coast Guard and Customs boats.

In the end, six people were arrested and likely millions of dollars in drugs were confiscated in two separate incidents in less than 24 hours, according to officials.

The first incident began shortly after midnight Saturday when a panga-style boat traveling north off the coast was discovered by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations aircraft. An hour later, the U.S. Coast Guard's Cutter Forrest Rednour crews confirmed the panga had no navigation lights and launched a small boat to intercept the suspicious boat, officials said.

The boat rammed the Coast Guard's small vessel, and Customs and Border Protection boat crew joined the chase, according to authorities. The suspects allegedly made several attempts to hit the AMO vessel as well, eventually striking it. Crews ordered the suspects to stop and fired warning shots, also deploying several disabling rounds into the boat's engine, finally halting the boat, 12 miles west of Oceanside, according to the Coast Guard. Four were arrested with 528 pounds of methamphetamine, officials said.

“Confronting smugglers in the maritime environment is extremely dangerous," said Timothy Sutherland, AMO San Diego Air and Marine Brach, in a press release. "This case demonstrates how by failing to heave to the vessels’ crew orders, the subjects had no regard for the safety of AMO agents and USCG officers.”

The second incident occurred later the same day around 3:30 p.m. when a suspicious fishing boat docked at San Diego Bay Channel was detected by Coast Guard crews. The individuals on board, did not have proper documentation to be in the United States. They and their vessel were later taken into custody by AMO agents.

After crews discovered 941 pounds of marijuana wrapped in cellophane packages, the two suspects and marijuana were turned over to the HSI San Diego Marine Task Force and the vessel was taken by AMO.