US agents nab 212 pounds of cocaine on Dominican-Puerto Rico ferry

Press Release

San Juan, Puerto Rico – U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers seized Monday 212 pounds (96 kilos) of cocaine found inside an inbound container from the Dominican Republic. The estimated value of the seized narcotics is $2.4 million.

CBP officers inspected several containers using non-intrusive inspection at the Pan-American Dock West, arriving from the Dominican Republic on board the ferry M/V Kydon.  An inconsistency with one container filled with canned goods prompted a more intrusive inspection.

A CBP K9 alerted the container on the presence of an odor for which is trained to detect.  Officers opened the container finding six (6) bundles containing 85 black bricks.  A field test revealed a white powdery substance, which tested positive for the components of cocaine.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) assumed custody of the contraband for further investigation.

“Technology assists our Officers to successfully detect concealments to smuggle contraband into Puerto Rico, which is intended to reach the US mainland,” indicated Edwin Cruz, CBP’s San Juan Area Port Director.

An important part of the CBP mission remains the facilitation of legitimate trade.  On a typical day last year, CBP officers nationwide seized 5,863 pounds of narcotics and disrupted 222 pounds.