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8.8 Tons of Cocaine Seized Off Mexican Coast
The U.S. Coast Guard on Sunday said it seized about 8.8 tons of cocaine with a street value of more than $500 million from a fishing vessel off Mexico, marking the fourth largest cocaine seizure at sea.
Coast Guard officials aboard the destroyer USS John Young boarded the Belize-registered boat ``Forever My Friend'' on Feb. 24 and found the drugs in a hidden compartment under fish and ice.
Officials said 10 crew members were detained in the high-seas arrest made about 250 nautical miles southwest of Acapulco, Mexico.
``We need a credible U.S. presence out on the ocean to intercept and deter this illegal traffic,'' Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta said at a news conference near a Coast Guard pier where the bricks of cocaine had been stacked.
The 78-foot fishing boat was towed to San Diego by the 563-foot John Young where it and its crew were turned over to U.S. authorities.
The crew members face drug smuggling charges that could mean 10 years to life in jail. They are set to appear in federal court in San Diego on Monday.
The seizure brings the total amount of cocaine seized by the Coast Guard this year to over 26.4 tons. In 2000, the Coast Guard set a record for cocaine seizures, capturing just over 68.3 tons, officials said.
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