Coast Guard Nabs Smugglers With $15 Million Of Cocaine Off PR

U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS —The Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Tezanos crew offloaded nearly $15 million in seized cocaine and transferred custody of two male smugglers at Coast Guard Base San Juan Monday, following the interception of a vessel in Mona Passage waters near Mona Island, Puerto Rico.

During a routine patrol Saturday afternoon, a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations (AMO) Multi-Role Enforcement Aircraft (MEA) aircrew detected two men aboard a 24-foot go-fast vessel suspected of drug trafficking. The Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Tezanos, which was operating in the vicinity, intercepted the vessel and apprehended the suspected smugglers.

The crew then located loose packages aboard the smugglers' vessel and recovered packages from the water that had been thrown overboard. In total, the crew of Joseph Tezanos seized 502 packages of cocaine with a combined weight of approximately 1,104 pounds.

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