CBP Confiscates $1.3 Billion Worth of Cocaine in One Week
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized a total of $1.3 billion worth of cocaine in a week. The Office of Air and Marine (OAM) P-3s operating out of National Air Security Operations Centers in Jacksonville, Fla. (NASOC-JAX) and Corpus Christi, Texas (NASOC-CC), assisted in the interdiction of a Self Propelled Semi-Submersible (SPSS) carrying close to 14,000 pounds of cocaine, and two go-fast vessels carrying more than 4,400 pounds of cocaine with a combined value of more than $1.3 billion.
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- On March 29, two P-3s operating in the Western Caribbean assisted the Joint Interagency Task Force-South (JIATF-S) in locating and tracking a SPSS off the coast of Nicaragua. The crew scuttled the SPSS but authorities recovered 13,889 pounds of cocaine worth more than $1 billion.
- On March 30, a P-3 operating in the Western Caribbean spotted a go-fast vessel carrying suspicious bales. The 40-foot twin-engine vessel was spotted speeding north off the coast of Panama and appeared to be carrying numerous packages when the Florida-based CBP P-3 began tracking the vessel. A local law enforcement patrol boat was vectored in to board the vessel and after inspection, 2,200 pounds of cocaine worth approximately $164 million were recovered.
- On April 4, a P-3 conducting routine patrols in the Western Caribbean detected an open-hull go-fast vessel containing rectangular bales off the coast of Panama. Local law enforcement officials were called in to pursue, and after boarding the vessel, 2,200 pounds of cocaine worth approximately $164 million were seized and four crewmembers were arrested.