{"id":23805,"date":"2026-01-23T19:02:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T19:02:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/?p=23805"},"modified":"2026-01-23T19:02:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T19:02:19","slug":"us-coast-guard-intercepts-drug-smuggling-vessel-with-cocaine-worth-7-million-3-arrested","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/?p=23805","title":{"rendered":"US Coast Guard Intercepts Drug Smuggling Vessel With Cocaine Worth $7 Million, 3 Arrested"},"content":{"rendered":"

US Coast Guard Intercepts Drug Smuggling Vessel With Cocaine Worth $7 Million, 3 Arrested
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Image Credits: Wikipedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A joint operation by the U.S. Coast Guard and Homeland Security Task Force intercepted a drug-smuggling vessel and arrested three men in Atlantic waters north of Puerto Rico on 14 January 2026.<\/p>\n

Authorities seized sixteen bales of cocaine from the vessel, weighing 506 kilograms (1,115 pounds) in total, with a wholesale value estimated at more than $7 million.<\/p>\n

The operation began when a Coast Guard Air Station Miami HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft spotted a 25-foot blue-and-white panga-type go-fast vessel in international waters north of Vega Baja, Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n

Coast Guard watchstanders in Sector San Juan then directed the cutter Joseph Tezanos and a 45-Response Boat Medium crew from Station San Juan to intercept the vessel.<\/p>\n

A Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine aircraft also joined the operation, providing aerial surveillance.<\/p>\n

Once on scene, the Coast Guard boat crew, with support from the CBP aircrew and the cutter, took control of the vessel.<\/p>\n

The three men were taken into custody, and the sixteen bales of contraband tested positive for cocaine.<\/p>\n

The suspects and the drugs were later handed over to Homeland Security Task Force law enforcement partners in San Juan, Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n

Reference: USCG<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\n MI News Network
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\nGo to marine insight<\/a>
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US Coast Guard Intercepts Drug Smuggling Vessel With Cocaine Worth $7 Million, 3 Arrested Image Credits: Wikipedia A joint operation by the U.S. Coast Guard and Homeland Security Task Force intercepted a drug-smuggling vessel and arrested three men in Atlantic waters north of Puerto Rico on 14 January 2026. Authorities seized sixteen bales of cocaine […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194,196],"tags":[197],"class_list":["post-23805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-marine-insight","category-shipping-news","tag-marine-insight"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23805"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23805"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23805\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}