SAN JUAN, P.R. – The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Tahoma working as part of the Caribbean Corridor Initiative, an organized crime drug enforcement strike force, seized nearly 800 pounds of cocaine, 55 pounds of brown heroin and one MAC-10 submachine gun with a silencer on board the Bolivian-flagged vessel Osiris II this weekend.
The Osiris II, a 130-foot cargo vessel, was intercepted by the cutter Tahoma approximately 228 miles southeast of the Dominican Republic. After successful coordination and cooperation between the Caribbean Corridor participating agencies and the government of Bolivia, Coast Guard personnel boarded the vessel.
An inspection of the vessel revealed the contraband and all eight crewmen of the Osiris II were detained and the ship was escorted to the Coast Guard Base in San Juan.
The Caribbean Corridor Initiative consist of members from the U.S. Coast Guard, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Drug Enforcement Agency, Customs and Border Protection, FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“The Coast Guard has a proud and successful history of intercepting contraband in the Caribbean,” said Captain James Tunstall, commanding officer for Coast Guard Sector San Juan. “With the aggressive work of ICE, DEA, FBI, CBP and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Caribbean Corridor Initiative’s collective resources are maximized as we continue our combined aggressive efforts to keep drugs off the streets.”
The Tahoma is a 270-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in Portsmouth, N.H.
