3300 Lbs. Of Cocaine Confiscated Near Panama
A boat carrying more than 3,300 lbs of cocaine was intercepted by U.S. Customs officials and Panamanian law enforcement agents last weekend.
According to Fox News, U.S. customs officials were working together with law enforcement agents in Panama as part of Operation Martillo to stop drug trafficking.
The U.S. Customs agent were flying in a P-3 aircraft over the open waters off the coast of Panama City when they noticed a suspicious speed boat. The U.S. Customs agents alerted police officers in Panama who sent out boats to stop the suspected smugglers.
Panamanian law enforcement agents recovered more than 3,000 pounds of cocaine which is worth more than $24o million.
The suspected traffickers were arrested, their boat was seized and all of the cocaine was confiscated.
Douglas Garner, Director of National Air Security Operations Center in Florida, told Seattle PI: “Our air crew agents are protecting our nation’s borders by actively patrolling the open waters of the Western Caribbean and Eastern Pacific as part of Operation Martillo.”
Garner said that Operation Martillo has stopped more than 54,000 pounds of cocaine this year by utilizing plane operations from Florida and Texas. In total, the anti-drug trafficking operation has seized nearly 200 tons of cocaine and has led to more than 400 arrests.
