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Dutch Navy makes record cocaine bust
by The Daily Herald
Posted: Aug 22, 2008 14:26 UTC
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CARIBBEAN SEA - The Dutch Navy intercepted a record 4,200kg of cocaine Monday when officers intercepted a South American coastal freighter in the waters off Puerto Rico, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba Coast Guard reported Thursday.
The more than four tons of drugs were found aboard a freighter bearing a Panamanian flag after information last week indicated that such a vessel was moving from Venezuela to Europe, probably with a large shipment of drugs.
Naval officers confiscated the drugs and arrested the 12 crewmen aboard the freighter.
The Netherlands Navy’s HNLMS Van Speijk guard ship intercepted the Panamanian vessel Monday after it “covertly monitored the suspicious freighter” for two nights near Puerto Rico.
“At first daylight, the Van Speijk and her helicopter approached the target ship at high speed and positioned alongside the merchant ship,” a press statement from the Coast Guard said. “A US Coast Guard Law Enforcement Team LEDET especially embarked onboard the Dutch West Indies guard ship to conduct counter-drug operations was transferred to the Panamanian freighter.”
It took about a day and a half before the U.S. LEDET located a suspicious hatch in the engine room revealing an entrance to an area where many bales each containing 25kg of cocaine were found. Tests aboard the ship proved the bales contained the illicit drug.
Netherlands Forces Commander in the Caribbean Admiral Peter Lenselink said this significant haul “should be seen as a fine result for all organisations that collaborated to restrict the daily flow of drugs to world markets.”
“This seizure underlines the excellent cooperation among all our partners in the region and once again confirms the importance of our presence in the Caribbean,” the admiral was quoted as saying.
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