Authorities in Puerto Rico on Monday seized cocaine worth an estimated $12 million off the island’s north coast.
A police statement said officers intercepted a 26-foot-long boat without identification in waters off the town of Río Grande. Following a pursuit, three suspects were detained and more than 1,800 pounds of cocaine were found on board.
Police said federal authorities are taking over the case.
It is one of the biggest seizures in Puerto Rican waters in recent years. The U.S. territory has long served as a transit point for drugs being smuggled into the U.S. mainland and Europe.
There have been several large drug seizures in Puerto Rico in the last few months alone. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, authorities seized roughly 214 pounds of cocaine hidden in a cargo ship that arrived in San Juan, the Puerto Rican capital, on Feb. 26. That haul was worth approximately $1.7 million, the agency said.
Earlier, in January, CBP agents said their crews worked with the U.S. Coast Guard to seize 10 bales of suspected cocaine off the coast of Puerto Rico, after receiving reports of suspicious activity involving two vessels in that area. The bales weighed nearly 780 pounds and were estimated to have a street value of more than $5 million altogether.
At the end of last year, CBP said its officers seized almost 1,000 pounds of cocaine from a cargo trailer, also in San Juan.
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- Puerto Rico
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