On Thursday, the United States Coast Guard offloaded about 1, 709 pounds of cocaine with an estimated $19 million wholesale value seized during a Caribbean Sea patrol.
The Coast Guard Cutter Donald Horsley’s crew offloaded the cocaine in Puerto Rico.
The crew also handed over three suspected male smugglers of Venezuelan nationality to federal law enforcement officials in Puerto Rico.
Thursday’s cocaine offloading and transfer of the suspects followed the interdiction of a 46-foot go-fast vessel days earlier on Saturday night.
The Coast Guard said while patrolling Caribbean Sea waters Southeast of Puerto Rico, a maritime aircraft spotted the non-compliant vessel.
After a high-speed chase, the cutter Donald Horsley intercepted the go-fast boat, apprehended the suspects, and recovered 31 bales of contraband the individuals on board had thrown into the water.
The three Venezuelan suspects now face criminal prosecution by the U.S. Department of Justice in the U.S. Federal District Court in Puerto Rico.
