Dominican Republic mulls radar, attack plane to halt drugs

Santo Domingo.- National Drugs Control Agency (DNCD) president Julio César Souffront revealed Monday that surveillance along the southwestern coast was reinforced, since the Caribbean Sea has become a shipping lane for drug trafficking boats, with least one attempt to land drugs at its beaches and swamps per week.

"We’ve increased air and marine patrols with the support of Dominican Republic’s Navy and Air Force," the official said and revealed that radar sites could be deployed at Pedernales and Barahona, and assign a Super Tucano intercept plane to permanently patrol the coastline, especially from Pedernales to Punta Salinas, in Peravia Province.

The head of the DNCD said permanent patrols were started along Pedernales province’s entire coastline one month ago, where major cocaine shipments from Colombia and Venezuela have been seized in the last few months.

The permanent patrol headquarters was built at the town of Juancho, whose fishermen were issued IDs and their boats painted in different colors for quick identification.