American off to jail on 985K cocaine seized on ‘his’ boat

Santo Domingo.- National District Judge Jose A. Vargas on Mondaysent to three months of pretrial detention a US national, alleged owner of theboat where 985 kilos of cocaine and 2.59 kilos of heroin were seized on thecoast of Barahona, where seven Hondurans were also arrested.

The Justice Ministry says American Harold Lawrence Davistried avert the investigation and leave the country from Las AmericasInternational Airport, where he was detained on a bench warrant. He was remandedto La Victoria prison.

The authorities said the seven Hondurans, identified as JoséRamírez, Reynaldo Oyuela, Abraham Sambola, Andy Midence, Winde Bodden, MarioPortilloand Melvin Hinds were Davis’ employees

In a statement, the Justice Ministry said it seized the boatPrecon Express I, registry IM07726299 in Santo Domingo port on 29 February 2016,after a raid by the National Drugs Control Agency (DNCD), the Dominican Navy andthe US Coast Guard.