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Coast Guard offloads $15 million in seized cocaine

Two smugglers were taken into custody after more than 500 bags of cocaine were confiscated from their vessel in Puerto Rico.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A crew aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Tezanos seized nearly $15 million worth of cocaine over the weekend.

The drug bust took place near Mona Island, Puerto Rico, when an aircrew discovered two men on a 24-foot go-fast vessel that was believed to be involved in drug trafficking, according to a news release

A Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations (AMO) officer happened to be in close range of the suspected go-fast vessel on cutter Joseph Tezanos and stopped it with assistance from the cutter's small boat. 

When the cutter crew entered the terminated vessel, they were able to locate several loose packages inside along with some that were thrown off of the boat and into the water.

A total of 502 packages of cocaine were confiscated that equaled approximately 1,104 pounds.

The two smugglers were transferred to custody Monday at Coast Guard Base San Juan.

Credit: Coast Guard

Lieutenant  Anthony Orr, the commanding officer of the Cutter Joseph Tezanos commended the work of the officers who were able to put a stop to the criminal activity. 

“It was a pleasure to work with the crew of the CBP aircraft, who vectored the cutter to intercept the go-fast vessel. Having a CBP Air and Marine Operations pilot onboard the cutter during the case proved very fruitful as the crew and pilot shared best practices, which can only help in future joint cases," Orr said in the news release. 

He stated that he was prideful in knowing that a substantial amount of cocaine will not make it to the streets. 

The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Puerto Rico is said to be leading the prosecution for this case.

RELATED: Deputies: 9 people arrested in Polk County drug bust

RELATED: $1.2 million in cocaine washes up at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

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