CBP details northern Puerto Rico cocaine seizure

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently detailed the seizure of 1,342 pounds (609 Kilos) of cocaine left inside a smuggling vessel in El Paraiso Beach.

The estimated value of the narcotics discovered in northern Puerto Rico is $12.7 million – crediting the seizure to Border Patrol Agents and the Toa Baja Municipal Police.

Ramey Sector Border Patrol agents responded on July 7 after the Toa Baja Municipal Police Department, which serves as an Operation Stonegarden partner, discovered a smuggling vessel beached near Playa El Paraiso.

The smuggling vessel was described as a blue 22-foot fiberglass Eduardoño type vessel powered by two 60-hp outboard engines. A search yielded 14 bundles and one brick of suspected narcotics which tested positive for the properties of cocaine.

According to the CBP, Ramey Sector is one of the 21 Sectors spread out across the United States, encompassing the territorial islands of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands while serving as the only Border Patrol Sector located outside the continental United States.

The Sector’s entire border area consists of coastline, and its area of responsibility comprises 6,000 square miles of land and water area, including the 12-mile band of territorial water surrounding the Islands.