SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — U.S. Coast Guard personnel and federal law enforcement partners have detained a stowaway found aboard a cargo barge off Puerto Rico’s northern coast and seized more than 500 pounds of cocaine along with a firearm, authorities said this week.
The operation took place on June 10 near Arecibo, Puerto Rico, when crews from the Coast Guard cutters Joseph Tezanos and Isaac Mayo, working with the Homeland Security Task Force–San Juan Region, boarded the barge Crimson Clover during its transit toward San Juan, according to a Coast Guard statement released on Thursday.
Authorities said officers discovered a stowaway aboard the vessel in possession of nine bales of cocaine weighing about 238 kilograms, or approximately 524 pounds, and a firearm. The seized narcotics have an estimated wholesale value of about $4.8 million, according to the Coast Guard. The suspect was taken into custody and transferred to federal authorities for further investigation and possible prosecution.
“This case highlights excellent teamwork across four maritime units and efficient interoperability between Homeland Security Task Force–San Juan partners,” Lt. Cmdr. Ross Markham, commanding officer of the Coast Guard cutter Joseph Tezanos, said in a statement. He said the operation demonstrated coordination among agencies working to deter drug trafficking and other illicit maritime activity.
The Coast Guard said the interdiction formed part of ongoing efforts to combat human smuggling, drug trafficking and unlawful maritime migration in the Caribbean region. Officials did not release the identity or nationality of the detained individual, and details about how the suspect boarded the barge remain unclear.
The seizure is the latest in a series of incidents involving stowaways and narcotics discovered on barges approaching Puerto Rico. In a separate case in January, Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection personnel intercepted another stowaway smuggler in San Juan Harbor and recovered roughly 358 kilograms of cocaine from the water near a barge, according to federal authorities.
Federal officials have long identified Puerto Rico as a transit point for narcotics shipments moving through the Caribbean. Law enforcement agencies routinely conduct maritime patrols and inspections around the island’s ports and coastal waters to disrupt trafficking routes.
The Coast Guard said the firearm and narcotics recovered from the Crimson Clover were transferred to Homeland Security Task Force personnel for evidence processing. Authorities said the detained individual could face federal drug trafficking and firearms charges.
As of Friday, no formal charges had been publicly announced. Federal investigators said the case remained under review, and additional details had not been released.
