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U.S. Seizes 30,000 Pounds of Cocaine
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WASHINGTON - The Coast Guard and Navy seized 30,000 pounds of cocaine from a boat off South America's Pacific coast this month in what authorities called the largest-ever seizure of the drug at sea.
On Sept. 17, the USS Curts, a Navy frigate based in San Diego, intercepted the Lina Maria, a fishing boat, about 300 miles west of the Galapagos Islands (news - web sites). A Coast Guard team boarded the boat and found 30,000 pounds of cocaine hidden in a sealed ballast tank.
Ten people were detained. They were charged Monday by federal authorities in Tampa, Fla. The crew of the boat, who were Colombian, claimed the boat had a Cambodian flag, but the government of Cambodia denied that, so the boat was treated as having no nationality, a Coast Guard spokeswoman said.
A second seizure was made Friday in the same area. The frigate USS Crommelin, based in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, stopped the fishing boat San Jose, and a Coast Guard team found 26,000 pounds of cocaine hidden under fish and ice in the vessel's cargo hold. The boat had a Belizean flag and a Colombian crew, officials said.
The two boats were believed to have come from Colombia. Officials believe they were headed for the U.S. West Coast, said Navy Lt. Ligia Cohen, a spokeswoman for U.S. Southern Command.
In the last year, the Coast Guard has seized a record 240,518 pounds of cocaine, worth about $7.7 billion, officials said. Much of that is in the Caribbean, but authorities say there is also a thriving drug trade on the Pacific coast of the Americas.
The Navy provides warships to assist in counternarcotics operations, but military personnel are not allowed to arrest suspected drug smugglers because they are not law enforcement officers. Coast Guard teams instead make the actual arrests.
U.S. Seizes 30,000 Pounds of Cocaine
8 minutes ago Add White House - AP Cabinet & State to My Yahoo!
WASHINGTON - The Coast Guard and Navy seized 30,000 pounds of cocaine from a boat off South America's Pacific coast this month in what authorities called the largest-ever seizure of the drug at sea.
On Sept. 17, the USS Curts, a Navy frigate based in San Diego, intercepted the Lina Maria, a fishing boat, about 300 miles west of the Galapagos Islands (news - web sites). A Coast Guard team boarded the boat and found 30,000 pounds of cocaine hidden in a sealed ballast tank.
Ten people were detained. They were charged Monday by federal authorities in Tampa, Fla. The crew of the boat, who were Colombian, claimed the boat had a Cambodian flag, but the government of Cambodia denied that, so the boat was treated as having no nationality, a Coast Guard spokeswoman said.
A second seizure was made Friday in the same area. The frigate USS Crommelin, based in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, stopped the fishing boat San Jose, and a Coast Guard team found 26,000 pounds of cocaine hidden under fish and ice in the vessel's cargo hold. The boat had a Belizean flag and a Colombian crew, officials said.
The two boats were believed to have come from Colombia. Officials believe they were headed for the U.S. West Coast, said Navy Lt. Ligia Cohen, a spokeswoman for U.S. Southern Command.
In the last year, the Coast Guard has seized a record 240,518 pounds of cocaine, worth about $7.7 billion, officials said. Much of that is in the Caribbean, but authorities say there is also a thriving drug trade on the Pacific coast of the Americas.
The Navy provides warships to assist in counternarcotics operations, but military personnel are not allowed to arrest suspected drug smugglers because they are not law enforcement officers. Coast Guard teams instead make the actual arrests.
