Stowaway with 789 pounds of cocaine pulled from Puerto Rico harbor, Coast Guard says

A stowaway has been arrested after he was allegedly found floating in a Puerto Rican harbor with nearly 800 pounds of cocaine, the U.S. Coast Guard said Monday. 

The suspect, who has not been identified, was first spotted by a crewmember of a tugboat leading a barge into San Juan’s Old Army Terminal port in San Juan, Puerto Rico in the early hours of January 28. The tugboat’s crewmember had seen the suspect after boarding the barge, the Coast Guard said. The tugboat relayed the information to authorities and held its position while awaiting an official response. 

Multiple agencies, including the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Caribbean Air and Marine Branch and Office of Field Operations, the Puerto Rican police, and the U.S. Coast Guard boarding team stationed in San Juan harbor, were notified of the incident. The U.S. Coast Guard’s San Juan team were directed to launch a boat into the harbor. 

Shortly afterwards, a person in distress was reported in the water. The Coast Guard boat responded and recovered the person, as well as 10 bales of suspected contraband wrapped in brown bags. The contraband was identified as 789.25 pounds of cocaine, the Coast Guard said, and the illicit drugs are worth more than $5 million. 

The suspect and seized contraband were transferred to Homeland Security partners, the Coast Guard said. The suspect now faces federal drug trafficking charges. 

A search of the barge found no other contraband or smugglers, the agency said. 

Coast Guard Cmdr. Matthew Romano, the Sectro San Juan chief of response, praised the actions of the tugboat crew and said the incident “highlights a great response and interoperability” between the multiple organizations involved. 

“We are proud to stand the watch alongside our Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice and our local law enforcement partners as we continue to combat illicit trafficking throughout the waters of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.,” Romano said.