Coast Guard, CBP Marine Unit arrest alien and seized 10 bales of cocaine attempted to be smuggled into San Juan, Puerto Rico

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Air and Marine Operations, an operational component of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, along with the Coast Guard Investigative Service seized 10 bales of suspected cocaine and detained an alien from the Dominican Republic early Wednesday after responding to reports of suspicious activity involving two vessels off the coast of Puerto Rico.

The seized bales of cocaine weighed a combined total of 789.25 pounds (358 kilograms) and are estimated to have a street value of more than $5 million.

On Jan. 28, the Coast Guard Investigative Service received a report of a trawler towing the domestic barge with witnesses reporting multiple bundles being thrown overboard and a man jumping into the water.

San Juan Marine Interdiction agents deployed a vessel to assist the Coast Guard in the search. By 8 a.m., authorities had recovered the individual from the water. The man, identified as a Dominican Republic national with no legal status to be or remain in the United States, was taken into custody.

Marine Interdiction Agents then recovered the bales of suspected cocaine from the water and the barge. Both the contraband and the detained individual were brought to San Juan for processing.

The U.S. Coast Guard and the CBP Marine unit transferred custody of the subject and the seized narcotics to the Homeland Security Task Force in San Juan. The task force will conduct further investigation and handle all legal proceedings.