US Coast Guard recovers 450 kilograms of adrift cocaine off Desecheo Island, Puerto Rico

The crews of the US Coast Guard cutters Paul Clark and Joseph Tezanos have recovered a total of 11 bales of cocaine southwest of Desecheo Island, Puerto Rico.

A coast guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew located a debris field approximately 16 kilometres southwest of Desecho Island. Paul Clark then arrived on-scene and deployed a small boat team, which subsequently recovered 10 bales of cocaine from the debris field.

The crew of Joseph Tezanos later recovered an additional 45-kilogram bale of cocaine in the vicinity.

The recovered narcotics had a total weight of around 450 kilograms. All were later transferred to the Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS) and the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force, a multi-agency effort by the US Coast Guard, the US Drug Enforcement Administration, US Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico, the the Puerto Rico Police Department.