250 Kilos of Cocaine Seized from Sailboat in St. Thomas

ST. THOMAS, USVI—Two crew members were arrested and approximately 250 kilograms of cocaine seized after federal law enforcement boarded and searched the sailboat Laurel on St. Thomas Tuesday, United States Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe announced today.

“The illicit trafficking of cocaine and the violence associated with its distribution, sale and use threatens the safety of every person in the Virgin Islands.” Sharpe said. “Therefore, it is critical that law enforcement disrupt drug traffickers’ delivery networks, seize their illegal products, and prosecute all those involved in the criminal endeavor.”

The seized cocaine is estimated to have a street value of approximately $5 million.

This investigation is being handled by the St. Thomas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Initiative, the Bridgetown Barbados Country Office, and the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force (CCSF). The St. Thomas HIDTA Initiative investigates both domestic and international drug trafficking activities. It targets the hierarchy of traditional organized crime and focuses on dismantling and disrupting the flow of drugs through the territory. It comprises the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. Attorney’s Office, Virgin Islands Police Department, U.S. Marshals Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Internal Revenue Service. The CCSF investigates South American-based drug trafficking organizations responsible for the movement of large quantities of narcotics utilizing the Caribbean as a transshipment point for further distribution to the United States. It is comprised of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), DEA, FBI, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service.

The drug seizure occurred after personnel aboard a Coast Guard Air Station Borinquen MH-65 Dolphin helicopter and a CBP Dash-8 aircraft, that were patrolling international waters east of the British Virgin Islands, detected the Laurel based on a tactical response request by the St. Thomas HIDTA Initiative. The Coast Guard Cutter Reef Shark diverted and intercepted the 54-foot sailing vessel, which was sailing north from Grenada. The Coast Guard Cutter Farallon later arrived on the scene and escorted the Laurel to St. Thomas where it was boarded and searched by federal agents.

The Coast Guard Cutters Reef Shark and Farallon are 87-foot and 110-foot patrol boats, respectively, that home port in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

This joint investigation is ongoing.