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  4. CBP Seizes 96 Pounds of Cocaine inside a container on board a Cargo Vessel Arriving to San Juan from the Dominican Republic

CBP Seizes 96 Pounds of Cocaine inside a container on board a Cargo Vessel Arriving to San Juan from the Dominican Republic

Release Date
Wed, 04/07/2021

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized 96 pounds (44 kilos) of cocaine Tuesday within a cooling vent of a container on board cargo vessel M/V GH Pampero calling the port of San Juan from Rio Haina, Dominican Republic.   The estimated value of the seized cocaine is $1.3 million.  

A view of the cocaine bricks inside the cooling vent.
A view of the cocaine bricks inside the cooling vent.

“Smugglers continue find means to conceal their illicit drug loads into the international supply chain”, stated Noel De Jesus, Acting Assistant Director of Field Operations for Border Security in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  “Our officers’ expertise, along with the utilization of all available tools, resulted in the detection of these narcotics.  Our communities can feel safer knowing that the men and women of CBP are securing their borders.”

On Apr. 6, a CBP Contraband Enforcement Team boarded the vessel for a routine inspection of containers using non-intrusive inspection technology.  One container was further inspected opening the container’s cooling vent access panel, where CBP Officers discovered forty-one (41) brick shaped objects.

The bricks tested positive to the properties of cocaine.

CBP’s mission is to safeguard America’s borders thereby protecting the public from dangerous people and materials while enhancing the Nation’s global economic competitiveness by enabling legitimate trade and travel.  

Last Modified: Nov 23, 2021