A stowaway carrying over 500 pounds of cocaine and a firearm was discovered on a barge near Puerto Rico, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. This incident marks the second occurrence this year of a stowaway being caught with a large drug cache in the same harbor.
Crews from two Coast Guard Cutters collaborated with a Homeland Security task force to detain the stowaway aboard the Crimson Clover barge in San Juan Harbor. During the operation, officials found the stowaway with a firearm and nine bales of cocaine weighing approximately 237.75 kilograms, equating to about 524 pounds.
The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Isaac Mayo later met with law enforcement at Coast Guard Base San Juan to take custody of the suspect, the weapon, and the cocaine, with the drugs having an estimated street value of $4.8 million. The suspect’s identity has not been disclosed.
The Coast Guard released photographs showing the barge, drugs, and officers moving the bales ashore. This was part of an effort to prevent smuggling through commercial vessels, as stated by Lt. Cmdr. Ross Markham.
The arrest comes as part of increased measures by the U.S. to combat drug trafficking and smuggling activities in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean. Alongside regular Coast Guard operations intercepting narcotics, a campaign by the Trump administration has included military strikes on drug-related boats, resulting in over 200 deaths.
In a previous incident in February, a stowaway was caught with 789 pounds of cocaine floating in a Puerto Rican harbor. The Coast Guard retrieved the suspect and contraband. Later, authorities seized cocaine worth about $12 million from a vessel off the island’s north coast.