cocaine

AMO Intercepts Vessel with 1,455 Pounds of Cocaine in Northern Puerto Rico

Published

2 years ago

April 6, 2023

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Release Date

Wed, 04/05/2023 – 12:00

FAJARDO, Puerto Rico— US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations (AMO), intercepted Wednesday a vessel transporting 1,455 Pounds (660 Kilograms) of cocaine and arresting four non-citizens from the Dominican Republic north of Rio Grande, Puerto Rico. The estimated value of the contraband is approximately $15.1 million.

“In less than a week Air and Marine Interdiction agents have interfered with the introduction of almost 5,000 pounds of cocaine into the island,” stated Augusto Reyes, Director of Air and Marine Operations in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. “Their maritime domain awareness allows for continued success in deterring these attempts from Transnational Criminal Organizations.”

The crew of an AMO Multirole Enforcement Aircraft (MEA) detected a 30ft Yola type vessel, with four persons on board and large packages, approximately 8 nautical miles north of Las Picuas Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.

The MEA maintained visual surveillance of the vessel while assisting AMO Marine units intercept the vessel. The vessel occupants started throwing bales to the water.

The Yola started to sink due to the sea conditions, at which point AMO contacted Puerto Rico Police Department FURA units to provide assistance in the recovery of the bales. Agents recovered 18 bales from the water and detained the four men on board the vessel before the vessel sank.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) received custody of the contraband and the four individuals for investigation and prosecution.

On April 1, AMO intercepted a vessel transporting 3,051 Pounds (1384 Kilograms) of cocaine, arresting three non-citizens from Venezuela near Palmas de Mar, in the islands’ eastern coast. Furthermore, on Mar. 30, AMO intercepted a vessel near Mona Island with 6 bales of cocaine and arrested 2 men from the Dominican Republic.

AMO safeguards our Nation by anticipating and confronting security threats through our aviation and maritime law enforcement expertise, innovative capabilities, and partnerships at the border and beyond. With approximately 1,800 federal agents and mission support personnel, 240 aircraft, and 300 marine vessels operating throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands, AMO conducts its mission in the air and maritime environments at and beyond the border, and within the nation’s interior.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the comprehensive management, control, and protection of our nation’s borders, combining customs, immigration, border security, and agricultural protection at and between official ports of entry.

https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/amo-intercepts-vessel-1455-pounds-cocaine-northern-puerto-rico

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ABC (Australia News) Victorian men jailed over attempted ‘astronomical’ cocaine import into South Australia

Published

2 months ago

January 30, 2025

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In short:

Two men have been sentenced to three years’ jail with a non-parole period of 18 months for trying to import more than 100 kilograms of cocaine into South Australia.

The judge said the pair had followed the drugs from WA to SA on the instruction of their drug dealers in order to pay off drug debts they had accumulated.

What’s next?

The men’s sentences have been backdated to when they were first imprisoned last February and they will both be eligible for parole in August.

Two young Victorian men who were involved in the attempted importation of an “astronomical” amount of cocaine into South Australia have been labelled “muppets” and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment.

Rayn Sadik, 20, and Yousif Al-Asadi, 23, were sentenced in South Australia’s District Court on Wednesday after they each entered a guilty plea to one count of attempting to possess a commercial quantity of an unlawfully imported border controlled drug last year.

The maximum penalty for that offence is life imprisonment or a fine of $2,347,500.

More at

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-29/victorian-men-sentenced-over-attempt-to-import-100kg-of-cocaine/104870476

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Military-trained narcos arrested in three tonne cocaine bust in south of Spain: Kalashnikov assault rifles among weapons seized

Published

2 months ago

January 18, 2025

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NEARLY three tonnes of cocaine and four military-grade weapons have been seized in a major drug bust along the Guadalquivir River in Sevilla.

Spanish police reported that the men had ‘paramilitary training’ and were armed with what appeared to be Kalashnikov assault rifles.

The presence of such weapons suggests a level of organisation and capacity for violence far beyond typical drug smuggling operations.

Military-trained narcos arrested in three tonne cocaine bust in south of Spain: Kalashnikov assault rifles among weapons seized

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Shipment of grapes entering Canada hid massive stash of suspected cocaine

Published

5 months ago

November 3, 2024

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More than 600 kilograms of suspected cocaine — roughly the weight of a concert grand piano — was discovered inside a shipment of grapes intercepted by border officers earlier this month.

The seizure took place on Oct. 15 at the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ont.

A spokesperson for the Canada Border Services Agency says an investigation is underway with law enforcement partners.

The agency declined an interview and said it doesn’t comment on the status of ongoing investigations.

CBSA hasn’t provided an estimate of the street value of the 615 kilograms, but earlier this year estimated the value of a cocaine seizure less than half this size at $6.5 million.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/ambassador-bridge-cocaine-grapes-1.7368639

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