Coast Guard Off Loads $37m of Cocaine

The US Coast Guard seized 1,133 kg of cocaine, worth $37m, after aerially disabling a boat carrying suspicious packages off the coast of the Dominican Republic. They said a military aircraft detected a boat with four people carrying packages, moving at a high rate of speed. Warning shots were then fired in an attempt to stop the vessel. The alleged smugglers were seen throwing several packages overboard during the pursuit. Military helicopters stopped the boat and a Coast Guard team boarded and detained the four suspected smugglers and recovered 45 bales of cocaine from the water. The operation was a joint operation between organisations working to combat drug trafficking into the Dominican Republican and Puerto Rico. Report by Genelle Aldred.