MAYAGUEZ, Puerto Rico —Marine Agents of US Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations (AMO), arrested two men transporting inside a “yola” type makeshift vessel 3 bales with 65 bricks of cocaine near Mona Island, Monday morning. The estimated value of the seized narcotics is approximately $ 1.4 million.
During a routine patrol, an AMO Multi-Role Enforcement Aircraft detected a lights-out vessel moving east located northwest of Mona Island.
The aircraft crew-maintained surveillance of the vessel to assist an AMO Marine unit to reach the vessel, where agents found two males onboard and contraband on the deck.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents took custody of the two men for prosecution. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) seized the cocaine for investigation.
AMO safeguards our Nation by anticipating and confronting security threats through our aviation and maritime law enforcement expertise, innovative capabilities, and partnerships at the border and beyond. With approximately 1,800 federal agents and mission support personnel, 240 aircraft, and 300 marine vessels operating throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands, AMO conducts its mission in the air and maritime environments at and beyond the border, and within the nation’s interior.
